“I have a larger purpose,” says Kunis, who is nesting with her new arrival and fiancé Ashton Kutcher. “I would so rather stay home with my baby than do anything else.”

Before motherhood became her focus, however, the actress filmed Andy and Lana Wachowski’s sci-fi epic Jupiter Ascending.

In the film, Kunis portrays Jupiter Jones, a struggling cleaning lady in Chicago trying to survive the daily grind. That changes dramatically when a bioengineered soldier of fortune by the name of Caine (Channing Tatum) shows up to deliver Jupiter to an interstellar alien.

It seems Jupiter is otherworldly royalty and can settle a dispute among competing intergalactic factions determined to control the assets of humankind.

Lots of sci-fi action and state-of-the-art special effects are present, yet the movie also tackles some big-idea themes of class, power and ambition.

Mila Kunis stars in Jupiter Ascending [The Associated Press]

Initially, Kunis says she was more intrigued with what the Wachowski script had to say rather than what she had to do in the movie.

“We have a society that is so geared to consumption nowadays, and I think in a way (Jupiter Ascending) mirrors the Earth’s version of consumption,” she says.

“I think the film also underscores the fact that some people have a sense of entitlement and worth, and the Wachowskis are asking, ‘What’s the purpose of all this?’ I really like that.”

What she wasn’t thrilled about was the wire work required to enhance the special effects, dangling from ropes and pulleys hours at a time. Indeed, Kunis had vowed to never go through the effort again after her experiences playing Theodora in Oz the Great and Powerful.

“I must be sadistic,” she says. “Or I guess I forgot how hard it was or what it was really like, so I did it again every day for eight months.

“The good news was that I was in amazing shape because I had to work out every day. But I didn’t work out to lose weight, I worked out, so I wouldn’t faint on the wires.”

On one occasion, Kunis and Tatum were dangling nearly 25 metres in the air while hanging from a rig on a moving truck to simulate a sequence in which Caine, with his jet boots, is helping Jupiter escape assassins.

She also had to survive her coronation as — “Go on, you can say it, Queen of the Universe,” she says. “You know, for the first hour of being Queen it was fun and then that 30-pound headpiece was too much. I literally had to have somebody help me hold my head up.”

Fortunately, Kunis and Tatum had the Wachowskis to encourage them when they needed it.

“The Wachowskis’ crew is their crew, and they have been together for a long time, and they work so hard for them, and it was really great to be a part of the family,” Kunis says.

“If you are comfortable with your surroundings, and you are comfortable with your acting partner, everything is going to be OK. If one of those things fails, everything will.”

Besides reading the details of a screenplay more closely next time, Kunis agrees she’ll be committed to her baby time, although she still has professional plans.

“I am honestly trying to figure it out,” says the former cast member with Kutcher of That ’70s Show. “I’m kind of focusing on producing behind-the-camera stuff. I’ll do a movie this year, but I just don’t know what.”

Either way, the project would have to fit into her new working-mom criteria.

“Every (movie) that comes up is too long or too far away,” Kunis says. “The baby goes where I go right now.

“I’m not ready emotionally or physically to do certain films, and I am not ready to be in front of the camera just yet.”

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” but these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture offerings is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week.

• MOVIESBig Releases on Feb. 6: Jupiter Ascending; The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water
Big Picture: I worry about the future as much as the next guy, which is why I’m thrilled about the depiction of a tomorrow in which most people look like Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis! Sign. Me. Up. (Even if killer robots and a Thunderdome come as part of the package, I’m all in. I’m just that shallow.) In Jupiter Ascending, Kunis plays a downtrodden housecleaner who finds out her DNA secretly makes her some kind of all-powerful space goddess. Or something. I dunno. Everyone’s pretty, damn it! And Tatum has elf ears! And there are lasers and space ship fights! Enough said. Tatum plays Caine, a genetically-engineered ex-military guy who pushes Jupiter towards her “cosmic inheritance.” Turns out she is intergalactic royalty, but powerful forces want her dead. (Sean Bean is also around to help, but his track record in royal feuds leaves much to be desired. Stay out of his orbit, Jupiter!) Meanwhile, SpongeBob crosses over from his animated world into our 3-D world to find a lost recipe! And then battles a pirate! Or something. He’s a hilarious walking, talking sponge. You’re not going to this one for the plot.
Forecast: In the real future, humanity will look less like Channing and Mila, and more like SpongeBob.

Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman in Better Call Saul [AMC]

• TVBig Events: Allegiance (NBC, Feb. 5, 10 p.m. ET/PT); Better Call Saul (AMC, Feb. 8, 10 p.m. ET/PT)
Big Picture: Allegiance is Homeland meets The Americans — wish a dash of Sherlock. It focuses on a young, brilliant CIA agent who “sees things others can’t” — a trick that is becoming as common among TV characters as breathing. Just once I want to see a show about a guy who is average and “sees” things I can.) The agent happens to be the son of two secret Russian spies. The Cold War is coming home, baby! When a Russian heavy comes to town to order a terrorist attack on the U.S., the ties that bind the family — and likely the nation — are put to the test. Meanwhile, Better Call Saul is the highly-anticipated prequel to Breaking Bad, about shady small-time lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk). This is the first of a two-night series premiere. Expect more laughs than Breaking Bad — but just as few morals. Forecast: My allegiance is to the two brilliant spy series already on cable TV. I’ll need to be wowed to have that loyalty tested — as I suspect will many others. But AMC’s new series is money to the bank.

Honourable Mention: Fresh Off the Boat. (Feb. 4, ABC, 8:30 p.m. ET/PT). This is The Fresh Prince of Bel Air meets Blackish meets The Wonder Years. The sitcom is based on chef Eddie Huang’s memoir and follows a 12-year-old hip-hop fan forced to relocate with his immigrant family from DC’s Chinatown to suburban Orlando. Tonight is a double-episode premiere.

Bob Dylan releases a new album [AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File]

• MUSICBig Releases on Feb. 3: Bob Dylan (Shadows in the Night), Diana Krall (Wallflower)
Big Picture: Bob Dylan and Frank Sinatra! Together at last! Dylan offers a brilliant all-Americana cover album reinterpreting songs from the ol’ Blue Eyes songbook. (But thankfully not New York, New York. With all that mumbling, people might have no idea what city he’s even talking about). Meanwhile, Canadian jazz icon Krall releases an album named after Dylan’s son’s former band. Not a coincidence. For starters, Krall’s new effort is also a cover album exploring and reinterpreting her favourite songs of the 1960s and ‘70s, including Desperado by The Eagles, California Dreamin’ by The Mamas and the Papas and the title track – a waltz called Wallflower by none other than Bob Dylan. The collection of songs shaped her youth and Krall pays them loving homage.
Forecast: Dylan will be a trendsetter. I’m hoping for a Nickelback cover album of Edith Piaf, a Drake reimagining of ABBA’s greatest hits — or Miley Cyrus covers of the Rolling Stones (she already has their tongue symbol down pat!). Meanwhile, Canuck fans will love Krall’s duets with Michael Bublé and Bryan Adams.

Honourable Mention: The High Dials (In the AM Wild). On their fifth studio album, Montreal folk-pop favourites add a helping of 1980s post-punk to their musical serving. As the title indicates, this album is all about people getting lost “for better or worse” in the “wilderness” of night. (Also sounds like a good plot concept for the next SpongeBob movie).

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/pop-forecast-for-feb-2-better-call-saul-spongebob-movie-and-more-with-video/feed0Bob Dylanpostmedianews1Better Call SaulBob Dylan, Viral Video, Like a Rolling StoneOscar Watch 2014: Boyhood, Birdman, Cake and more (with video)http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/oscar-watch-2014-boyhood-birdman-cake-and-more-with-video
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/oscar-watch-2014-boyhood-birdman-cake-and-more-with-video#respondTue, 30 Dec 2014 21:02:02 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=570058The nominations will be read aloud Jan. 15, but before the names of this year’s lucky Oscar contenders hit the airwaves and ricochet around the coffee wagon, you may want to get acquainted with this year’s front-runners.

After all, nobody likes looking like a dumb-dumb, and in these days of faceless communication, nothing can make you lose face faster than a blank stare in the chiselled mug of celebrity news.

So in the hopes of giving you a cocky know-it-all strut into Starbucks, here’s a cheat sheet of the must-sees to help you prepare.

Boyhood: People are impressed by any director who will stick to a project for over a decade, so even if Austin, Texas son Richard Linklater remains something of an outsider in Hollywood, his movie featuring the same actor over the course of 12 years earns endless points for effort. Look for Linklater to score a directing nod, and maybe a few performance nods for Patricia Arquette, who lets us watch her enter middle age without fear or injections, and the heretofore unknown Ellar Coltrane, who grows up before our very eyes.

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Ever since Schindler’s List, Ralph Fiennes tends to be an Oscar regular — even though he’s never walked home with hardware. In Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel he plays a career hotel concierge with comic aplomb, but also an aching dramatic side that could earn him a place on the red carpet roster. The sharp screenplay and unique production design could also be singled out for glory.

Tilda Swinton is part of a star-studded cast in The Grand Budapest Hotel

Nightcrawler: This one punctured the jugular of pop culture in a way that defied expectation as it dragged the corpse of old-school news around the streets of Los Angeles while blowing into a creepy kazoo. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a voyeuristic gore junkie who earns a living selling blood and guts to a struggling news outlet. Watching him surrender the ghost of morality is spellbinding and worth a trip to the podium, but it may prove too good and too soulless to net a prize.

American Sniper: When you put Clint Eastwood and Bradley Cooper in the same sentence, people notice, which is why Eastwood’s take on the real story of Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle will likely mark a return of two usual suspects: Eastwood for director, Cooper for best actor. The ambient American flags and war hero themes could also vault it to best picture consideration.

A Most Violent Year: J.C. Chandor tried to send Robert Redford down the red carpet last year with All Is Lost, and while the Sundance kid failed to make the list, Chandor created a quiet IOU for himself in Hollywood’s mental ledger. As a result, his new reel featuring two more Oscar also-rans in Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis) and Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty, Tree of Life) as a husband and wife trying to beat the sleazy competition in the heating oil business stands a good chance of racking up nods.

Selma: Led by a remarkable, but undeniably subtle performance from David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King, this period movie from Ava DuVernay examines a chapter in U.S. history that is 50 years old — but sadly still relevant. Focused on the historic march from Selma to the state capital in Montgomery, Alabama, DuVernay’s feature pulls all the ugly, musty truths out of America’s racist past and airs them with cool, dramatically calculated blasts of fresh air.

Cake: Jennifer Aniston has been waiting a long time to have it, eat it and wear it down the red carpet, which is why this so-so drama about a somewhat desperate woman on a quest for love could be the Cake she’s been waiting for. Aniston looks harsh in the film, and we all know what unflattering looks can do for women during Oscar season — just ask Charlize Theron and Nicole Kidman.

Foxcatcher: If the world were fair, Channing Tatum would be the one deflecting endless Oscar speculation for taking on the tragic role of Mark Schultz, an Olympic wrestler who became the lapdog of eccentric billionaire John du Pont. Tatum’s role is not heroic, typically masculine or even all that sympathetic, but Tatum plays the self-loathing to perfection, and makes the sometimes cartoonish turns from his cast mates Steve Carell and Mark Ruffalo feel meaningful.

Steve Carell stars in Foxcatcher

Force Majeure: Ever since this movie about a Swedish family on a ski holiday hit the festival circuit this fall, it’s been snowballing into a must-see title. So if you want to get the bonus points in the office pool, check out Ruben Ostlund’s memorable psycho-drama if you can.

Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me: You’ll have to download this one from your favourite content site, which isn’t a really good sign, because it means it was hard for tastemakers and jury members to see. That said, James Keach’s documentary portrait of Glen Campbell facing Alzheimer’s disease on tour is a tear-jerker packed with sweet music, and a highly relatable social message, making it a must-see — any time of year.

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/oscar-watch-2014-boyhood-birdman-cake-and-more-with-video/feed0BirdmankatherinemonkcanadacomFilm Review The Grand Budapest HotelFoxcatcherBest and worst movies of 2014 (with video)http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/best-and-worst-in-movies-2014-with-video
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/best-and-worst-in-movies-2014-with-video#respondFri, 19 Dec 2014 07:12:53 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=554889The only consistent thing in the movies of 2014 was the lack of a constant.
For every outer-space comedy reinventing the superhero genre there was a demigod having a bad hair-and-beard day in an unintentionally silly action flick.

For every fabulous fantasy there was a post-modern vehicle trying to be funny but taking wrong turns.

This year a sequel worked but a continuing series proved that there is no accounting for taste. In other words, here are the top five delights and blights of the 2014 film world:

The delights of 2014

Guardians of the Galaxy

James Gunn’s tongue-in-cheek sci-fi adventure features a golden oldie soundtrack defining a interstellar fable profiling misfits and outcasts, led by Chris Pratt’s disarming anti-hero Star-Lord. The so-called guardians begrudgingly join together to save the universe, and movie audiences, from those oh-so-important superhero flicks. It’s for those who enjoy some loopy laughs with their laser attacks.

22 Jump Street

Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill graduate to university as undercover cops assigned to bring down yet another drug ring. The duo have fun making fun of the sequel mentality even as they increase the banter and the antics of agents out of their element. Another bonus: Tatum and Hill share the witty wealth with comedy colleagues who scene-steal at wisely timed intervals.

Jonah Hill, left, and Channing Tatum in 22 Jump Street.

Maleficent

Angelina Jolie wants to have fun, too. She proves it with her title role of Maleficent. She’s the evil entity who puts a curse on Sleeping Beauty’s Princess Aurora after Maleficent is horribly betrayed by the princess’ father. Jungian backstory aside, Jolie tends to be borderline bizarre occasionally but always entertaining as the embodiment of wicked with a wild headdress of horns.

Birdman

It’s all talk and not much special-effects action, but former Batman Michael Keaton ignores the irony and acts in a perfectly desperate way. In the comedy-drama, he plays a former superhero star trying to revive his flagging career by mounting a Broadway play. Filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu manages the hectic pace well and surrounds Keaton with first-rate actors.

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Sometimes, Wes Anderson is humour exclusive. In this romp, Anderson drops the pretence for some lively definitions of losers on the take and make. Ralph Fiennes leads the way as Gustave H., a slippery concierge at a famous European hotel in the frolicking years between the First World War and Second World War. Think of the movie as a zany Groucho Marx-style comedy.

The blights of 2014

A Million Ways to Die in the West

The killer concept had everything going for it but giggles. Let’s face it: fans of Ted are to blame for providing Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane for another opportunity to waste our time. Granted, seeing Charlize Theron in a cowboy hat is hilarious but sometimes stupid just isn’t enough.

Transformers: Age of Extinction

Michael Bay cannot be stopped. He teased us with the decent movie effort Pain & Gain last year and then returned to his money-making, big-bang theory of “louder is better” with yet another Transformers as a 156-minute hard-rock drum solo. Apparently, Age of Extinction is wishful thinking for non-fans.

The Maze Runner

Note to Hollywood movie studios: Just because somebody writes a formulaic young adult post-apocalyptic sci-fi trilogy, it does not equal lucrative movie franchise. Case in point is this mistake, which is the exceedingly dull tale of a community of boys trying to escape their walled-in-world. The through line: yawns from beginning to end.

Dylan O’Brien stars as Thomas in The Maze Runner

Noah

A man is chosen by God to take on the massive undertaking before the flood of floods, and that man is Russell Crowe (because, you know, Russell Crowe can be intimidating). Crowe, as Noah, is a beard to be reckoned with. And while some baffling battles tend to be fierce, animals are scarce — along with the film’s reason to be, other than a melting pot of over-cooked ideas.

Hercules

He is, indeed, solid as The Rock. Why? The always-friendly Dwayne Johnson did his duty promoting Brett Ratner’s ridiculously inept examination of the legendary muscle man without ever chortling or chuckling or snickering. That means Johnson is a trouper. On the other hand, he could have been he-haw free after laughing all the way to the bank.

Tatum could even say the battered head flaps and abused perichondrium are proof of true performance, because he suffered the auricle injury on the set of Foxcatcher, the latest film from Capote director Bennett Miller.

Based on the true story of billionaire heir John du Pont and his bid to coach a U.S. Olympic wrestling team, Foxcatcher stars Tatum as professional wrestler and gold medallist Mark Schultz, Mark Ruffalo as his older brother and fellow medallist Dave Schultz, as well as an unrecognizable Steve Carell as the eccentric du Pont.

For months, the three men were forced into strained intimacy in the pursuit of bringing the dark story to light, and in the case of Tatum and Ruffalo, that often meant mano a mano struggles to the mat, and all the ear-crushing trauma that goes along with it.

“Mark and I went through the grinder together,” says Tatum. “So it was pretty easy to bond when you are bleeding together.”

But there was another male-bonding dynamic to explore in Bennett’s coolly surreal picture, and it’s the way du Pont treated the younger Schultz as brother, child, friend and cabana boy.

At first, Tatum didn’t really know how to pin it down. In fact, when he first met with Miller seven years ago, he says he didn’t get the script at all.

“I read it and honestly, I didn’t understand why Bennett wanted to make this movie. I don’t think I had the tools to understand the nuance of the script or the characters or really anything, and thankfully, Bennett and I found each other on the Sony lot seven years after and I think we had both done a lot of growing, especially me,” says Tatum.

“When we started talking about it again I felt like I had new eyes into it, so I am so thankful I didn’t try to attempt it before because I wouldn’t have known where to start.”

Steve Carell plays John du Pont in a scene from Foxcatcher.

An eerie mix of absurdist humour and tragedy, Foxcatcher is positioned as a mournful love triangle between three quiet men all grappling with different concepts of love.

When Carell first saw the film at its premiere at Cannes earlier this year, he said he was surprised by the number of times people laughed. It’s an understandable response, he says, even if the film has an undeniably dark side.

“The way Bennett describes the humour is that it’s funny until it’s not anymore, and if this story didn’t have the outcome that it does, it could just be an absurd, ridiculous story,” says Carell.

“But the fact it ends up where it does, and that there’s this pall that hangs over the entire narrative, it changes things. But some of it is so absurd you can’t help but laugh, or want to laugh, because it seems too strange to be true,” says the comic actor who donned a prosthetic nose, dark contact lenses and a whole new screen presence to assume the role of a little rich man desperate for affirmation.

Asked about the phenomenon of male bonding, and its near-primal necessity in building a man’s personal identity, Tatum, Ruffalo and Carell reflect from slightly different perspectives.

“There was some du Ponding,” says Ruffalo. “But I think for a guy, it’s about security, probably, to some degree. It gives you a sense of place and self.”

Tatum laughs at the du Ponding joke, then articulates a seldom-voiced truth: “It’s really hard for men to tell other men ‘I love you’ without putting like a ‘man’ at the end of it — like ‘love you … man.’ You can’t just look at another man and say ‘I love you.’ ”

Carell says male bonding is important because “it’s about offering yourself up to vulnerability” and men don’t generally do that. He also says he did not really bond with his co-stars because he and Tatum had an unspoken agreement to stay away from each other on-set.

Their discomfort together is palpable, but it’s also a huge aspect of the subtext because no one really knew the truth of their characters’ relationship. Even Tatum, who spent time with the real Dave Schultz to prepare, says there was no consistency to the stories.

“Sometimes, I’d find talking to him so profound. And then at another moment, I would be so upside-down with something that he said that I wouldn’t be able to wrap my mind around it. It got sort of confusing at times.”

Steve Carell, left, and Mark Ruffalo in a scene from Foxcatcher.

Carell says the whole experience of the movie was slightly mysterious — including his own hire. “I was honestly surprised that (Miller) asked me to do it but just the fact that he asked was the reason why I did it.”

As for the larger mysteries of male bonding and John du Pont, Carell says he has no sure answers.

“There’s lots of conjecture (about the motives in the film) but who’s to say? There have been all sorts of whispers and we’ve all done research and talked to people who have opinions but really it’s just that: an opinion,” he says.

“But I think Bennett presents all those things in a very open way and allows the viewer to draw their own conclusion … But in a lot of cases, he was finding it as we were finding it and I think that’s an extremely exciting aspect of working like this.”

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/channing-tatum-mark-ruffalo-and-steve-carell-talk-foxcatcher/feed0FoxcatcherkatherinemonkcanadacomFoxcatcherFoxcatcherBennett Miller overcame all obstacles to make Foxcatcher (with video)http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/bennett-miller-overcame-all-obstacles-to-make-foxcatcher-with-video
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/bennett-miller-overcame-all-obstacles-to-make-foxcatcher-with-video#respondWed, 26 Nov 2014 21:11:58 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=551585Bennett Miller looks tired before the questions even begin, but you can’t blame him for looking weary. It took the director of Capote and Moneyball, seven years to birth his latest baby, Foxcatcher, — even though it was far from what you’d call a ‘labour of love.’

A bleak, clinical and entirely subdued drama steeped in an anemic palette and an almost over-medicated tone, Foxcatcher tells the true and truly twisted story of old-money billionaire John du Pont and his desire to coach a U.S. Olympic wrestling team during the late 1980s.

The only thing standing in his way is a complete lack of experience or know-how, and a strained dynamic with two of America’s top contenders: sibling gold medallists Dave and Mark Schultz, played in the film by Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum.

Tatum is an easy sell in the role of the brawny contender. And Ruffalo, while not exactly beefy, manages to lumber like a muscle-bound bear for the duration. But Steve Carell, who plays the wacky heir to one of the world’s oldest fortunes, proves the movie’s biggest surprise as he disappears behind a rubber nose and dark contacts.

Miller has been answering questions about casting Carell since the film premiered at Cannes, but he’s hoping the comic actor’s fake nose doesn’t eclipse the bigger message — that is, if the film even has one.

Director Bennett Miller’s new project is Foxcatcher

“The more you look at something the more you tend to see,” he says. “And if there is a continuity that runs beneath the whole film, it’s partly the perspective that doesn’t really want to conclude anything, or make a point, or have a message.”

Miller says we live in a world that judges almost everything based on appearance and we impulsively put people in boxes, which is something he wanted to question.

“There are lots of issues or themes in the film like money, wealth, class, entitlement, patriotism, ideology … All these things are [evident when] poring through this really small story and I wanted to look at them without terminating the thought process,” he says.

“As I researched and investigated … I found that I was continually pulled in and further intrigued by aspects of the story people were guarding. So part of the style of the film, and its austerity, is there to force you to look at things in an unflinching way.”

Carell was an inherent part of that design says Miller, even though it wasn’t really his idea to start with. “His agent proffered his name and we added him to a list of people who were being considered,” says Miller.

“And when the idea came my way, it gave me pause because it wasn’t obvious: This role couldn’t be played by somebody who fit any preconception of the kind of character that would do what this character does. “ Without spoiling the ending — which is available to any interested party via a short Internet search — John du Pont surprised a lot of people with the actions dramatized in the film, which covers the run-up to the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Steve Carell stars in Foxcatcher

“You want to watch someone who appears to be benign. And I think being a comic, and the kind of comic that he is, Steve fabricates the perception that he is benign.”

The nose, Miller says, was a latex extension of that perception, because he didn’t want people to necessarily focus on the typical image of Steve Carell, star of Anchorman and most recently, the stay-at-home dad in a slapstick kids’ comedy about bad days.

“I wanted people to accept him from the first frame because once you have an impression, we create biases fast. I wanted (the audience) to accept him as not the thing we know him for,” says Miller.

“Steve submitted himself to test upon test … and there’s an acting exercise that some schools employ, which is like a mask exercise where you put on a mask and look in the mirror. It affects you immediately. And I think Steve’s full makeup … nudged him where he needed to go.”

Miller says he felt for Carell, who was forced far out of his comfort zone in every way, especially physically.

“You know Steve is an athlete,” says Miller. “He was a lacrosse player and a hockey player in college and he’s actually quite a graceful person. He has worked out his entire life as a fitness nut, and he cut himself off of that and let his body become what it is in the film. And that really affects your psychology.”

Miller says watching his actors find their footing validated the seven-year quest to make Foxcatcher because it was a movie no one wanted to make.

“I had taken it everywhere when I first started to develop in 2008, but no one would finance it,” says Miller.

“Had it not been for (producer) Megan Ellison who decided to disregard the analysis of conventional financing methods … this movie would not exist.”

“You can call me Eagle, or Golden Eagle,” says John du Pont in Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher, the true story of a U.S. American billionaire’s bizarre bid to coach a U.S. Olympic wrestling team.

The comment is delivered without a shred of irony, self-deprecating humour, or a hint of straight-man shtick in the vein of Stephen Colbert. But what makes it truly weird is the person delivering this piece of ego-laced patriotism happens to be played by Steve Carell, a talent typically associated with comedy and outlandish satire.

For the viewer, this particular moment presents a cognitive stall, a lurching emptiness between the absurd and the all-too-real, that ends up defining the entire film and its profoundly disturbing creative success because in this instant of mental weightlessness, Miller puts us in a headlock.

And then, he applies pressure.

The sensation is nothing less than suffocating as we struggle to reconcile the oddly comic feel with the looming tragedy, but in this fading landscape of muted colours and musty old money, there’s a strange euphoria in simply letting go and letting Miller crush us beneath the weight of masculine emotional needs.

After all, it’s this stale, sweaty weight that turns the spring of suspense as Miller plays out one of the stranger chapters in modern competitive sport.

In the late 1980s, John Eleuthère du Pont, the only heir to one of America’s largest fortunes, decided he wanted to be a patron of athletics, particularly freestyle wrestling.

At the time, Schultz was living a largely unglamorous life, surviving on ramen and the odd speaking engagement.

His older brother Dave (Mark Ruffalo), another Olympic champion, had a slightly more lucrative day job as a wrestling coach at a local college, but like most athletes before the days of massive corporate sponsorship, the Schultzes were living hand-to-mouth for the joy of sport.

Needless to say, when du Pont approached Mark to be his No. 1 with a generous salary attached, it was an easy decision for the little brother to make: It was his chance to slip the shadow cast by his older, successful brother.

So if you’re feeling shades of Cain and Abel, you should, because Miller, the award-winning director of Capote, is tapping every piece of archetype he can to instil his film with a sense of timeless narrative.

At times, Foxcatcher feels like some freakish version of Rocky or a warped take on a fairy tale. At others, it’s almost subversive commentary on the American überclass, and the handful of billionaire industrialists who shape global politics at every level.

In this endless procession of creepiness, Miller’s strongest scenes are the ones where he brings the two worlds together, and lets them wrestle. From a sequence showing Tatum and Carell snorting coke in a private helicopter on their way to a D.C. fundraiser, to a squirm-inducing moment showing du Pont trying to roughhouse with his new friends in his mother’s trophy room, Miller finds the leverage points of male self-esteem and forces them to the mat.

More impressive still is how Miller grapples with all this testosterone through silence instead of chest-thumping vocalizations. It’s almost like The Hours, only without Nicole Kidman, and more fake nose.

Indeed, the prosthetic nose and dark contact lenses sported by Carell for the duration almost undermine the nuances of his whole performance because it suggests stunt casting, but if you really watch what all three men are doing — particularly Tatum, who has the hardest role to play — you’ll see three beautifully phrased interpretations of masculinity, and where the foundation of manhood truly lies.

For the character of Dave, being a man means being a good brother, a good father and good husband. For du Pont, it’s about assuming his rightful place in the ancient patriarchy and his role as “golden eagle.”

For Mark, it’s a confusing blend of both, which accounts for Foxcatcher’s herky-jerky feel and emotional heaviness, but also its crisp, almost clinical, dramatic success.

22 Jump Street: Three stars out of five — Though the idea of a sequel to a mediocre spoof comedy doesn’t sound appealing, 22 Jump Street will kick you to the curb of laughter, whether you watched the original show, or even the first movie. Something about Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum working as a mismatched cop team works, because it’s so obvious that they don’t really have to try. They just have to show up in the same frame and the comedy makes its own sauce. The rest comes down to the writing, and for this genre of expletive-laden slapstick, it’s not just witty, it’s relatively gender emancipated.

PAPER PLANES:

The Wind Rises: Four stars out of five — The soaring optimism of youth collapses beneath the weight of war in Hayao Miyazaki’s old-school paint and ink period piece, but thanks to his gentle hand and careful folds, this paper plane exercise in love and death lands without violence. If anything, it’s all poetry — both visual and narrative — thanks to Miyazaki’s (Princess Mononoke) unabashedly human touch. The Wind Rises contains no computer-generated elements, which plays to the larger story of an aeronautics engineer seeking to overcome design flaws in a quest to make a better flying machine. Miyazaki successfully immerses us in an analog world where the human hand — not a machine — bridges the gap between the imagination and the mechanical reality.

Jessica Alba is one of the many stars in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.

M.I.A.

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For: Two stars out of five — Draw the chalkmarks around this body. It’s Shakespeare with guns, cleavage and cuss words — everything a moviegoer could ever really expect in this day and age — but in Frank Miller’s muddled canvas called A Dame to Kill For, all we really get is cleavage and Mickey Rourke looking like that kid from the movie Mask. The rest of this violent, blood-soaked disaster disintegrates in a sweaty grasp of desperation and vulgar urges as we watch Jessica Alba play a self-destructive stripper and Eva Green play a ramped-up femme fatale.

Australian musician Nick Cave.

CAVE ANALOGY:

20,000 Days on Earth: Four stars out of five — There was a time when everyone was trying to be Morrissey. Every art rocker had coal black hair and a foreboding brow to add Goth edge to their latest skin blemish. Nick Cave emerged from the Australian underground around that time, and while he’s been doing his own, melodic, Cohen-esque music for three decades now, it’s taken a long time for Cave to find his own light. But one of the wonderful things about 20,000 Days on Earth is how it explores that lengthy creative process without apologizing for a single moment of expression. A mongrel as far as genre, this movie appears to be a documentary of sorts, but Cave is self-reflective enough to know there is no such thing as verité, and sets about making a movie that is all conscious performance.

A scene from New Line Cinema’s and Village Roadshow Pictures’ thriller Into The Storm.

GIMME SHELTER:

Into the Storm: Two and a half stars out of five — It sucks. It blows. But that’s not a bad thing because in this faux-verité take on Twister, a tornado can tear down a town in one huffing funnel of death, but still bring a family together. It’s all heartland fable, complete with father-son bonding and good ol’ boys having some fun, which is why Into the Storm bears a certain amount of truth in form, despite its irritating, post-Blair Witch disguise as a ‘documentary film.’ This movie wants to bring us into the eye of the big swirl, and it delivers, but without a great human story to match the effects, there’s nothing solid to hang on to.

For moviegoers, the holidays mark the peak of the release schedule, when all the Oscar hopefuls are packaged in tinfoil and wrapped with a bow.

A walk through the multiplex is like being a kid in a candy store. So with an eye to making the best of your festive binge, here’s a guide to this year’s movie munchies. (Dates subject to change):

Trail Mix (for survivalists):

Hunger Games Mockingjay, Part 1 (Nov. 21): Jennifer Lawrence returns as feisty femme heroine Katniss Everdeen in this continuing saga of the people versus the power.

Salted Almonds (for highbrow grown-ups):

The Homesman (Nov. 21): Tommy Lee Jones directs and stars in this frontier story that features Academy Award winner Hilary Swank playing a homesteader who accompanies three mentally ill women back to civilization. Starring in a revisionist western with a dark heart and some dramatic meat, Swank could easily find herself back on the awards circuit.

Penny Candy (cheap sweets):

Penguins of Madagascar (Nov. 26): Bringing a little swagger to the world of waddle, an intrepid group of flightless birds must stop an evil villain from destroying the world in this animated adventure from the Madagascar movie people.

Mixed Nuts (eclectic):

Foxcatcher (Nov. 28): Perhaps the strangest and eeriest thing about this story of a poor little rich man and his quest to coach a championship wrestling team isn’t the tragic truth of it all, but Steve Carell’s prosthetic nose. Capote director Bennett Miller grapples with various forms of obsession in this Oscar-ready outing starring Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo and an unrecognizable Carell.

Reese Witherspoon stars in Jean-Marc Vallée’s film Wild.

Beef Jerky (real substance, minimal package):

Wild (Dec. 5): Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club) adapts Cheryl Strayed bestseller to the big screen with Reese Witherspoon taking on the role of a woman on a long trek of self-discovery and forgiveness. This is one to gnaw on.

Pop Rocks (they tingle, you giggle):

Top Five (Dec. 12): It’s the comedian’s version of Birdman as a standup comic (Chris Rock) seeks redemption in the same breath as his reality-TV wedding. Adam Sandler and Rosario Dawson also star in this Rock-written script.

Jawbreaker (epic layers of candy coating):

Exodus: Gods and Kings (Dec. 12): Holy Moses! It seems Ridley Scott can do only science fiction or swords and sandals these days, so get ready for an uprising of biblical proportions as Christian Bale demands that Rhamses (Joel Edgerton) let his people go.

Tootsie Roll (fake taste, iconic product):

Inherent Vice (Dec. 12): Paul Thomas Anderson revisits the landscapes of Boogie Nights in this noir-sounding detective story set against the backdrop of 1970s Los Angeles. With Reese Witherspoon and Jena Malone playing the femmes and Owen Wilson, Joaquin Phoenix and Josh Brolin playing fellas with names like Bigfoot Bjornsen and Doc Sportello, it sounds inherently compelling.

Peter Jackson is the director of The Hobbit.

Salted Toffee (it’s never done):

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (Dec. 17): More sword swinging than a pirate-themed kids party. Peter Jackson’s new movie reboots the big dragon, Bilbo and five armies for battle.

Cracker Jack (look for the hidden prize):

The Imitation Game (Dec. 19): Put on your black bow tie and buckle up that Benedict Cumberbatch because this prestige offering is a period tale focused on Alan Turing, the cryptologist who broke the Axis Enigma code and paved the way for Allied victory during the Second World War — only to be vilified for being a homosexual. The British star teams with Scandinavian director Morten Tyldum, who gave us the brilliant, if dark, Headhunters.

Cinnamon hearts (sweet with zing):

Annie (Dec. 19): Oscar-nominated Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) plays the kid from the funny pages while Jamie Foxx plays a latter-day Daddy Warbucks in this live-action adaptation that does not appear to belt Tomorrow.

Hershey Bar (a classic):

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (Dec. 19): The late Robin Williams plays Teddy Roosevelt one more time while Ben Stiller has the flashlight and his surprised look for another tour of the Museum of Natural History.

Licorice Allsorts (grown-up taste, lots of colour):

Mr. Turner (Dec. 19): Mike Leigh studies landscape painter J.M.W. Turner, known for his magical skies and luminous canvases that play with light.

Coffee Crisp (might be addictive):

The Gambler (Dec. 25): Mark Wahlberg and Jessica Lange pick up the leads in this movie about addiction and facing the consequences of one’s actions, especially the big boneheaded decisions that haunt you forever.

Pez (take the head off):

American Sniper (Dec. 25): Bradley Cooper’s face is splattered across several marquees this season, but it’s here, in Clint Eastwood’s latest, that Cooper will find a route to the red carpet as he plays a Navy SEAL with a record number of kills.

James Franco, left, and Seth Rogen star in The Interview. The comedy is set for release on Christmas Day.

Snickers (peanuts covered in Francocoa):

The Interview (Dec. 25): Two tabloid celebrity chasers (Seth Rogen, James Franco) discover Korean dictator Kim Jong Un is a fan of their sleazy show and attempt to secure an interview with the leader in a bid to make themselves look like legitimate journalists.

Pralines (Forrest Gump’s favoured sweets always pack a surprise):

Into the Woods (Dec. 25): We started the year with Angelina Jolie’s revision of a wicked witch in Maleficent, but Meryl Streep puts all the shards of evil back in their proper frame as she plays a witch who tinkers with the lives of archetypal characters, including Cinderella (Anna Kendrick), the baker’s wife (Emily Blunt) and the big bad wolf (Johnny Depp).

Turtles (a classy cluster):

Unbroken (Dec. 25): The title could very well describe the director, because this Second World War thriller about an Olympic runner who was shot down, marooned at sea and held in a prison camp was crafted under the guidance of working mom and showbiz survivor Angelina Jolie.

Back in the day when 21 Jump Street was earnestly trying to convince us cops could pass as high school students, the spoof movie was synonymous with Leslie Nielsen and slightly naughty sexual double-entendres.

These days, we have spoofs of spoofs and single-entendre sex jokes that rely on various bodily excretions.

What was once dumb is now dumber, which means the timing for 22 Jump Street couldn’t be better.

An entirely stupid comedy centred on two halfwit cops named Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum), the great thing about this sequel to the surprisingly successful 21 Jump Street is its 21st-century self-awareness.

Taking the mickey out of itself from the opening scene, where it offers a recap of the previous movie, and the oddball bonding between smart-but-flabby Schmidt and the moronic jock Jenko, the movie knows it’s a cheap assembly cop cliché.

It also knows it’s a movie, which brings an extra element of self-reflection, and one more mirror for the selfie-era funhouse.

Jonah Hill, left, and Channing Tatum in 22 Jump Street.

Once again, it’s the gruff captain (Ice Cube) who keeps it real for the audience, ensuring we’ve been debriefed on the project’s case file from the start. First, he tells us he’s shocked to be back with a budget twice as big. Then he tells Jenko and Schmidt to do exactly the same thing as last time — no improvising, no sudden plot twists, just infiltrate the local college and take down a drug dealer before some bad drugs go viral.

Schmidt understands, and lays out the next 90 minutes of plot for us when he tells Jenko the partnership will struggle, and all the things that made the two of them such a great team in the first movie will now tear them apart.

Of course, this is exactly what happens. The partners go undercover once more and end up in a coed college dorm as roomies. Yet, unlike the last time they had to take classes together, the college experience lets them grow as individuals and find their own path — as well as new partners.

Jenko is an immediate hit with the frat boys and football players because he’s athletically gifted and becomes the dream receiver for the all-star quarterback. Schmidt, on the other hand, doesn’t have any brawn and starts to feel threatened by Jenko’s new friendship with Zook (Wyatt Russell), the blond-haired Adonis worshipped by the entire Greek alphabet.

Schmidt isn’t exactly rush material, so he ends up on the other side of campus, watching bad slam poetry and trying to get lucky with artsy chicks.

These bits aren’t all that funny unto themselves, but the whole picture has such a clear memory of college culture that it actually attains a sociological edge as it articulates and magnifies the minutia and melodrama that constitute our coming of age.

Jonah Hill, left, and Channing Tatum in 22 Jump Street.

For instance, there’s a running “walk of shame” joke where we watch Schmidt cross campus with his shoes in his hand and a bad case of bedhead in the wee hours of the morning.

He wears just the right look of fatigue and post-coital flush as he says hi to the others — mostly women — who carry their pumps and panties back home before breakfast.

It’s one of the better gags, and it illustrates a subtle reason for the film’s larger comic success: It’s sexually liberated and goes out of its way to deconstruct sexist cliché.

Jenko even has a whole speech about proper usage of the word “gay” — which only gives extra depth to the underlying gag of man-to-man love that forms the foundation of the whole cop buddy narrative.

Tatum and Hill are able to sell the revision because they’re playing it straight up. Moreover, they actually have chemistry together — and using their thespian skills, they turn every bonding moment into a romantic soap opera climax.

The movie works because it’s not reinventing the wheel. It’s not even retreading it. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie) simply put this old 10-speed on its kickstand and build up an entertaining sweat going nowhere new at all.

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/movie-review-22-jump-street-leaps-to-right-conclusions-with-video/feed0Jonah Hill;Channing Tatumkatherinemonkcanadacom22 Jump Street.22 Jump Street.22 Jump Street’s Jonah Hill still an award-winning wit (with video)http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/22-jump-streets-jonah-hill-still-an-award-winning-wit
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/22-jump-streets-jonah-hill-still-an-award-winning-wit#respondWed, 11 Jun 2014 15:40:35 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=462612NEW YORK — Jonah Hill introduced himself in 2007 as one of the jokers in Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up, followed by his doofus part in Seth Rogen’s Superbad. Serious consideration was added to his resumé with Academy Award nominations for his portrayals in 2011’s Moneyball and last year’s The Wolf of Wall Street.
Add to the achievement list his co-starring (with Channing Tatum) and co-writing efforts on the hit comedy 21 Jump Street and now the sequel 22 Jump Street. The 30-year-old sat down with Postmedia News recently to discuss the new movie and his blossoming career:

Q: Did you want to maintain the good-cop (Tatum) and incompetent-cop (Hill) dynamic for the sequel?

A: It set the standard. And it seemed to work so we kept going with it.

Q: Was it difficult to look awkward doing stunts?

A: I felt even more creatively inspired to think of the clumsy way to do a stunt. There was some creative puzzling: How can I completely mess that up?

Q: Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller return for the sequel. Was that important?

A: I think Phil and Chris are at the beginning of a journey. I think they could be like a Robert Zemeckis or something.

Q: Ice Cube returns as your captain. Was that key?

A: When we were writing the first one, the idea that we wrote down was that the guy who wrote F— Tha Police would play the (police captain), and it happened, so I got to be around Ice Cube.

Q: Was the second time even better?

A: It was over two movies. That’s like a full six months of Ice Cube questioning.

Q: Did he mind?

A: I’d say he was psyched that somebody cared so deeply about N. W. A. and what he’s done.

Q: Are you a hardcore fan?

A: Oh yeah. I grew up in Los Angeles in the 1980s so I idolized Ice Cube and Magic Johnson and later Martin Scorsese.

Q: Isn’t that a weird trio?

A: I’m a really weird dude.

Q: Is that why there are so many funny people doing weird improv moments in 22 Jump Street?

A: I learned from Judd (Apatow) and Seth (Rogen) early on that having funny people turn something bland into something wonderful is great for everybody.

Q: What’s your formula for deciding on a film?

A: I just make movies that I would want to see with filmmakers I believe in.

Q: What’s your next Oscar-nominated movie?

A: (Laughs) I think I’m going to take a little break. Whatever I do next it will be something I’m passionate about. Probably a sequel to something.

NEW YORK – Channing Tatum grins sheepishly as he takes his seat in a Manhattan hotel suite.

Tatum’s reacting to a suggestion that he’s become a ready-for-prime-time comedy player after refining his skills in the sequel 22 Jump Street.

“The movie’s not out yet so I don’t want to jinx it,” says Tatum, who declines to comment on the positive preview buzz for him and the movie. “I’m a little superstitious that way.”

The 34-year-old does admit he is becoming more comfortable with the genre thanks to his jokester workouts with buddy Jonah Hill.

In the latest movie loosely based on the 1980s TV cop show, Tatum and Hill return as undercover agents but this time they enrol at a university to bring down a dangerous drug ring.

Like the first movie, the action is fast and furious; the one-liners are quick and quipster-like while the tone is more self-effacing than self-serving as the cops lampoon the sequel mentality even as they make one.

OK, so besides being a cross-your-fingers kind of guy, the friendly Tatum reveals himself in five other ways with thoughts on subjects ranging from the Jonah Hill bond and the Gambit part to his best role yet as dad with Father’s Day just around the corner:

1. He continues to be unsure why he connects so easily with Hill.

“We got along really quickly right from the start,” Tatum says. “I don’t really know how to explain it. It wasn’t like a gestation period or anything. Jonah just seemed like a lot of the kids that I grew up with in Florida.”

2. He is still excited about doing his own stunts.

His efforts in 22 Jump Street were laid back compared to the hardcore running and jumping he did last year for White House Down and Jupiter Ascending, set for release early next year.

“They were by far the most physical movies I have done to date,” Tatum says. “In this (22 Jump Street) I was just worried about keeping my body together. I’d been banged up throughout those other films.”

That’s why he was disappointed with his scenes playing football in 22 Jump Street. “I had two bum wheels, so it was disappointing to do the football. I had a rolled ankle that was taped up and a torn ligament in my right foot.”

3. He’s thrilled about playing Gambit in the upcoming superhero film.

“I chose Gambit because it was my childhood,” Tatum says. “It’s the only real X-Men that I followed. He’s just the coolest one to me. He’s the smoking, drinking, woman-chasing, cussing one … and he’s not even a good guy, he’s a thief.”

4. He’s an involved diaper-duty dad for his daughter Everly, who celebrated her first birthday May 30.

“If a guy isn’t good at changing a diaper, I don’t know what he’s there for, really,” Tatum says, “because the first seven months mom’s the end-all and be-all of everything.”

Any mishaps? “There are always mishaps. The whole day is just a big ol’ mishap. I find it really fun.”

5. Despite his plans for a Gambit film, an Evel Knievel biopic and another Magic Mike movie, he’s committed to taking a family-values break.

“I want to slow down and I really don’t want to miss my child’s first 10 years of life,” the proud poppa says.

“It’s always a different thing every day. Watching her experience things for the first time is fun. Like she just saw a kite the other day and she was just like, ‘What is it?’ It was crazy.”

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” Bob Dylan sang. But these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture offerings is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week.

Movies

Big release: 22 Jump Street (June 13)

Big picture: Summertime means sequels are on the menu! No matter how full they are, Hollywood always heads back to the buffet line for second and third helpings. Case and point is 22 Jump Street, the followup to the smart, funny, self-aware 2012 reboot of the not-so-funny ’80s drama starring Johnny Depp. After surviving their undercover high school stint, police officers Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) go undercover at college, where their crotch-grabbing, juvenile antics fit in all-too well with dorm life. Will they ever grow up? Probably not. Will they ever decide to leave college? Of course! How else would we get more sequels? Personally, I can’t wait for 75 Jump Street, in which the dynamic policing duo is asked to infiltrate an underground Viagra ring at an old age home.

Forecast: The laughter isn’t undercover. It comes hard, fast and right on the mark. Hill and Tatum make offer a fine bromance due to their effortless comic chemistry. This sequel won’t suffer from the terrible hangover of other comedy followups such as … The Hangover Part II.

Honourable mention: How to Train a Dragon 2: With lead characters named Hiccup and Toothless, this could have been a period piece about railway-riding hobos. Instead, it’s an animated sequel about dragon-riding Vikings! When new dragons are discovered in a secret ice cave, the tenuous peace between mankind and scaly monsters is threatened. In a rare feat of genuine movie magic, we might have two good sequels opening the same week, let alone the same summer. (On a side note, I’d pay to see a documentary called How to Train a Bieber? Someone needs to get Justin in line. Might as well capture it on film.)

TV

Big event: 2014 MuchMusic Video Awards (MuchMusic, CTV, June 15)

Big picture: I know what you’re thinking. “They still air music videos on MuchMusic?” Yes, they do! Well, occasionally anyway. (I believe the unscientific ratio is one video per ever four sitcom reruns). But they certainly still air a music video awards show. The MMVA’s 25th anniversary is co-hosted by Kim Kardashian’s teenage half-sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner, a sisterly brand that spans everything from fashion and publishing to reality TV. (I don’t know how many different jobs these girls are holding down simultaneously, but the Jenners might be one of the leading causes of youth unemployment.). They’re essentially the new Olsen twins. As for the awards themselves, Hedley and Drake top the list of nominees. But the live performances and carnival atmosphere are always the real draw.

Forecast: This one is for the young and young at heart. The lively street party’s promising list of performers include Lorde, Sam Roberts Band, MAGIC! and Imagine Dragons. Don’t worry, these dragons come trained.

Jack White, centre, returns with his second solo album, Lazaretto.

Music

Big releases on June 10: Jack White (Lazaretto); Big Wreck (Ghosts)

Big picture: Hard to argue with a musical genius. Jack White’s second solo album finds the shaggy-haired musical encyclopedia tapping into funk, soul, country, blues and garage rock — all while putting his signature guitar work front and centre. Like a deft stage magician, White pulls various rabbits out his musical hat at all the right moments, with the help of a stellar supporting cast of musicians. The organ, slide guitar and fiddle work are things of beauty. His country-tinged numbers such as Just One Drink and I Think I Found the Culprit put the average new country artist to shame. Meanwhile, Big Wreck returns with some ghosts of their own on their fourth studio album, led by Toronto vocalist Ian Thornley.

Forecast: Big Wreck’s album will surely haunt fans’ playlists, but White’s album will haunt critic’s end-of-year lists. White’s sophomore solo effort is better than 2012’s Blunderbuss. Next up, I expect White to get even more eccentric with a solo spoon album. If anyone can make playing the spoons cool, it’s White. Plus, it will give hipsters a whole new hobby to pursue.

Honourable mention: The Fresh & Onlys (House of Spirits): It’s Fleet Foxes meets The Shins. These psychedelic Californian rockers welcome you into their house. You may never leave.

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/pop-forecast-for-june-9-22-jump-street-mmvas-jack-white/feed0postmedianews1ACL, Austin City Limits, Jack WhiteSummer movie preview 2014: A scouting report on the new lineup (with video)http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/summer-movie-preview-2014-a-scouting-report-on-the-new-lineup-with-video
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/summer-movie-preview-2014-a-scouting-report-on-the-new-lineup-with-video#respondWed, 30 Apr 2014 17:54:36 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=437989The boys of summer are back. Some in pinstripes, some in full-metal jackets and some in full James Franco. This is the season when studios seek a home-run hitter who can fill the seats from June to fall. With a roster of veteran sluggers competing for glory with some noted rookies rising from the minors, this year’s lineup makes the multiplex a veritable field of movie dreams. (Opening dates are subject to change.)

SLUGGERS

These guys homer consistently. It’s why they get the money. They also tend to gravitate to the big-budget projects, so watch for:

X-Men: Days of Future Past (May 23, Fox): Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Jennifer Lawrence, Ian McKellen and more mean this big-hype release is the New York Yankees of casts, with a budget to match. Shot in Montreal for about $200 million, this Bryan Singer spectacle brings both X casts together as the good mutants attempt to stop a robot invasion.

Edge of Tomorrow (June 6, Warner): It’s just not summer until Tom Cruise jumps the couch to save humanity from toxic energies and antidepressants. But this year, he’s got his work cut out for him in a plot straight out of Katie Holmes’ subconscious: He has to die several times to survive an alien war. On the bright side, he gets to do it with Emily Blunt.

Transformers: Age of Extinction (June 27, Paramount): The latest Michael Bay robot boy toy is Mark Wahlberg, who enters the battle between Decepticons and Autobots as a plucky inventor who discovers his new best friend is a talking truck.

Jupiter Ascending (July 18, Warner): The siblings who gave us The Matrix return in this action comedy with Channing Tatum as a futuristic bounty hunter assigned to find a princess (Mila Kunis) working on Earth as a maid.

Guardians of the Galaxy (Aug. 1, Disney): We all know the best part of Star Wars was Han Solo and Chewy, so imagine Bradley Cooper, Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel and Zoe Saldana as an army of Hans and Chewys saving the galaxy with grumpy charm.

Also: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (James Franco and lots of simians wrestle for the future), Frank Miller’s Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (Mickey Rourke and the title tell you all you need to know).

Jennifer Lawrence in X-Men: Days of Future Past.

THE XX FACTOR

Men may get most of the marquee, but even Meryl Streep is back this season, with Angelina Jolie and Scarlett Johansson, not to mention a throwback to Thelma and Louise.

Maleficent (May 30, Disney): Ever since Disney released the first image of Angelina Jolie with goat horns and glowing green irises, this back story of Sleeping Beauty’s nemesis grows ever more enticing.

Tracks (June 6, Mongrel): With three movies in the lineup (The Double, Only Lovers Left Alive), Mia Wasikowska rivals Scarjo and Franco for screen time, but as this fact-based story of a woman who crosses the desert with camels proves, Wasikowska has a better eye for oddballs.

Tammy (July 2, Warner): It’s gonna be a wonderfully grumpy ride through road-movie clichés and Ridley Scott allusions as Melissa McCarthy and Susan Sarandon team up for a mother-daughter comedy that uses odd-couple devices and some the funniest women in Hollywood (Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Sandra Oh and Kathy Bates).

Lucy (Aug. 8, Universal): Johansson and Franco are getting the lion’s share of this year’s shifts, but ScarJo’s doing all the scoring — first as Black Widow in Captain America, soon as a vampire-like skin thief in Under the Skin, later this summer as Lucy — a new action heroine from Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita) who gets even for past evils.

The Giver (Aug. 15, Alliance): Streep and Holmes star in this new movie from Phillip Noyce about a utopian community where only one wise man (Jeff Bridges) knows about the past.

Meryl Streep

SEVENTH-INNING STRETCH

Sometimes you just need to scratch your crotch and burp — or as it’s called in Hollywood, watch an Adam Sandler movie. Comedies competing for your attention:

Blended (May 23, Warner): Sandler and Drew Barrymore have fantastic screen chemistry, which bodes well for their third outing — a modern Brady Bunch setup about single parents who end up at the same all-inclusive resort.

A Million Ways to Die in the West (May 30, Universal): In his second feature as director, Seth MacFarlane assumes the starring role playing a shmuck trying to survive the hazards of the Old West.

22 Jump Street (June 6, Fox): Really? Even Jonah Hill can’t believe he’s back. And he wrote the script for this satire that reteams him with Tatum.

Sex Tape (July 25, Sony): Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel play a bored couple whose sex life goes viral in this modern take on sexually transmitted digital content.

Magic in the Moonlight (Aug. 1, Mongrel): Woody Allen is still inspired enough to tell silly love stories. Here, Colin Firth and Emma Stone hook up on the French Riviera during the Roaring ’20s.

The F Word (Aug. 1, eOne): Montreal filmmaker Michael Dowse continues to blur the line between the Great White North and the glitter gulch with this Daniel Radcliffe-Oona Chaplin movie that toes the fuzzy boundary between friendship and romance.

Jonah Hill, left, and Channing Tatum in 21 Jump Street

THE NATURAL

Movies without much buzz, but lots of potential to emerge as sleeper hits:

Godzilla (May 16, Warner): Three years ago, Gareth Edwards’ little horror movie called Monsters left a big footprint for its authentic treatment of an alien invasion. We can only hope his reboot of Godzilla works the same magic.

The Rover (June 20, eOne): Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson starring in the same movie is exciting in itself, but couple this with David Michod’s direction and The Rover may be the only fresh kill on the menu.

A Most Wanted Man (Undated, eOne): Even if no one really liked Anton Corbijn’s The American, starring George Clooney as secret agent, this new effort features a haunting performance from Philip Seymour Hoffman, a storyline from John le Carré’s 2008 novel and Rachel McAdams.

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/summer-movie-preview-2014-a-scouting-report-on-the-new-lineup-with-video/feed0X-Men: Days of Future PastkatherinemonkcanadacomX-Men: Days of Future Past.Meryl Streep21 Jump StreetHow to build The Lego Movie in five easy steps (with video)http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/how-to-build-the-lego-movie-in-five-easy-steps
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/how-to-build-the-lego-movie-in-five-easy-steps#respondMon, 03 Feb 2014 16:18:28 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=391965CARLSBAD, Calif. — The Lego Movie co-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller already knew a few things about constructing a frantic and funny animated movie. They made their debut shaping the wild and wacky hit, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

Building The Lego Movie was something else again. So Lord and Miller explained the steps with voice cast members Morgan Freeman (wizard Vitruvius), Elizabeth Banks (Wyldstyle), Chris Pratt (Emmet) and Will Arnett (Batman) by their sides at the Legoland hotel near the Lego amusement park 40 minutes north of San Diego.

Step One

The Lego Movie co-writers and co-directors admitted that they were accustomed to making pitches in front of studio executives but the Lego bosses at the Denmark-based Lego company seemed intimidating at first.

After all, the story is a bit odd. Arnett voices Lego Batman who comes to the aide of his girlfriend Wyldstyle (Banks) and construction worker Emmet (Pratt). Their frantic mission is to stop Lord Business (Will Ferrell) from destroying the Lego world in a bid to maintain order.

Also featured in the 3D animation is the all-knowing wizard Vitruvius (Freeman). Uni-Kitty (Alison Brie) and pirate Metal Beard (Nick Offerman) assist the good guys along with Superman (Channing Tatum), Green Lantern (Jonah Hill) and Wonder Woman (Cobie Smulders).

Trying to stop them on behalf of Lord Business is Bad Cop/Good Cop (Liam Neeson), a bullying member of the Super Secret Police.

Lord and Miller eventually won the Lego bosses over as they emphasized their animated track record and the story’s light and lively humour.

“Everyone also agreed it had to be a film about something,” Lord said. “And we tried not to show them 21 Jump Street,” said Miller referring to their raunchy live-action film starring Tatum and Hill.

The Lego Movie

Step Two

It may have been good for collecting airline miles but not so good on sanity as Lord and Miller decided to hire the Australian production firm Animal Logic to construct the movie, which uses a mix of digital images and an updated version of stop motion.

That meant the co-directors endured multiple flights from L. A. to Sydney where Animal Logic is located and the Lego headquarters at Billund, Denmark.

Step Three

Casting, of course, was key. Veteran voice actor Arnett was hired immediately for Batman. Pratt got the Emmet part based on his abilities portraying the not-so-quick Andy on Parks and Recreation. Banks, said Miller, was “a no-brainer” as the rebel Wyldstyle. And Lord wanted to know who wouldn’t go after the voice of God (Freeman in Bruce Almighty) for the wizard part?

Hill, and especially Tatum, made it clear while filming the 21 Jump Street sequel that they wanted parts in The Lego Movie, so they got their wishes. They have cameos after some persuasion. “(Channing) told us if he wasn’t in the movie he’d never talk to us again,” said Miller.

The Lego Movie

Step Four

As The Lego Movie was being set up — with more than 15 million Lego bricks — the voice actors spent recording sessions over three years forming their characters in the spirit of the film, which is simultaneously funny for kids and adults. But Lord and Miller don’t pander.

“We are clearly not adults,” Lord noted. “We try to make each other laugh,” said Miller. “And our humour is so juvenile kids like it, too.”

On occasion, Lord and Miller would bring Banks, Pratt and Arnett together in the same studio to capture their spontaneity and encourage some improvisation since their respective characters Wildstyle, Emmet and Batman, tend to drive the narrative.

“It made it much more organic,” said Arnett of the dialogue. “The only problem I had was not laughing because I think Chris Pratt is one of the funniest people I know.”

Banks held her own, too. Plus she’s an active Lego builder as a get-involved mom.

“I build things and present them to my sons, and then they destroy them,” she said pretending to be disappointed.

And what about Freeman? He always worked alone and found his motivation in a basic way. So why did he accept the job? “Ideas and money,” he said smiling.

In The Lego Movie, Will Arnett voices Batman, who comes to the Lego world.

Step Five

Now Lord and Miller wait for the reaction to the movie. How do they want kids to react once they see it?

His sons, Archie, 5, and Abel, 3, are whooping it up at the nearby Legoland amusement park while father promotes The Lego Movie at the Legoland Hotel.

“My kids have been on sensory overload since we’ve been here,” said the smiling 43-year-old Toronto native relaxing in a just-for-kids suite at the resort north of San Diego.

Sensory overload? Wait until they see the movie. In the 3D computer animated production, Arnett voices Lego Batman who comes to the aide of his girlfriend Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) and construction worker Emmet (Chris Pratt).

PHOTO: Warner Bros.In The Lego Movie, Will Arnett voices Batman, who comes to the Lego world.

Their frantic mission is to stop Lord Business (Will Ferrell) from destroying their Lego world by keeping things the way he wants them.

Also featured is the all-knowing wizard Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman). Uni-Kitty (Alison Brie) and pirate Metal Beard (Nick Offerman) help out on the quest, too. So does Superman (Channing Tatum), Green Lantern (Jonah Hill) and Wonder Woman (Cobie Smulders).

Trying to thwart the plan is Bad Cop/Good Cop (Liam Neeson), who is a Lord Business henchman and a member of the Super Secret Police.

The movie is fast and funny in the spirit of co-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s first animated effort Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

Lord and Miller agreed. They also confirmed that Arnett was their one and only choice to send up Batman with his gravelly voice; and the collaboration seemed to pay off.

“We tried to find the spot where Batman could live in the Lego world,” Arnett said of their many recording sessions over the three years the film was put together.

PHOTO: Jason Merritt/Getty ImagesMuch sought after for voice roles, Will Arnett says about The Lego Movie: ‘We worked out that the more serious (Batman) was the funnier he was. So that’s what we went for.’

“We worked out that the more serious (Batman) was the funnier he was. So that’s what we went for.”

Indeed, most animators think of Arnett when they are hiring. He’s made a side career of voice jobs — from lucrative TV commercials to high-profile animated films including the recently released The Nut Job, Despicable Me and Horton Hears a Who!

In fact, he survived as a struggling actor in the 1990s when he moved from Toronto to New York seeking his fame and fortune while studying with Lee Strasberg.

“I spent many years in New York paying my rent as a voice-over guy,” said Arnett. “As I started to work as an actor, it made sense to do animated fare. But I didn’t see any of this happening.”

He was, however, wondering if he’d ever be in a hit sitcom besides 30 Rock as the recurring character Devon Banks.

PHOTO: CBSAs well as getting good reviews, The Millers comedy series — starring Beau Bridges, left, Arnett and Margo Martindale — also allows Arnett to spend lots of quality time with his sons now that he’s divorced from Amy Poehler.

In 2003, Arnett had his break out in the revered ensemble Arrested Development, portraying the incompetent illusionist Gob in the dysfunctional Bluth family, earning an Emmy nomination in the process.

Unfortunately, broadcaster Fox cancelled the comedy in 2006 after three low-rated seasons but Netflix revived it for Season 4 last year, much to fans’ delight.

The NBC comedy Up All Night — with Arnett, Christina Applegate and Maya Rudolph — was heavily promoted but was cancelled in 2012 after only two seasons.

“One of the knocks I get is that I’ve had so many kicks at the can, but I don’t look at Arrested Development as a failure,” he said.

PHOTO: Warner Bros.The Lego Movie directors say Will Arnett was their one and only choice to send up Batman, with his gravelly voice.

The Millers — featuring Arnett, Margo Martindale and Beau Bridges — has been in the Top 10 for most of the episodes and has received good reviews.

“To be a part of a show that is getting ratings and viewers is very strange for me,” he said. “There are a lot of Arrested (Development) fans out there, but now I cut a much larger swatch in terms of demographics with The Millers.”

As an added bonus, the series allows him to spend lots of quality time with his sons now that he’s divorced from Amy Poehler.

Initially, he accepted The Millers offer for that reason.

“I thought The Millers would give me the kind of a life that would allow me to make time for them,” said Arnett. “Then the show turns out to be a big hit, which I don’t know how to deal with.”

PHOTO: Warner Bros.The Lego Movie

Whatever happens, he will continue to be a father first.

“I don’t wrap my identity around my success in show business,” he said.

Luck was clearly on 2013’s side when it came to entertainment. Film, music, arts, pop culture and especially television junkies were offered an embarrassment of riches.

Naturally, some shone more brightly than others. And to the entertainment writers from around the Postmedia News chain, the following 13 entertainers stood out most of all.

1. The cast of Breaking Bad

Now that was sublime. The idea that fictional, artfully created characters can appear in one’s living room week after week, year after year, is as old as the medium of television itself.

Not since The Sopranos, though, has a cast of fictional characters seemed as vivid and real as Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, Skyler White, Hank Schrader, Marie Schrader and Walter White, Jr.

Hour after hour, week after week, year in and year out, Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Dean Norris, Betsy Brandt and R.J. Mitte breathed life into characters written on a page and made them seem real — vitally, tangibly real — and, more importantly, made us care about them, root for them and become invested in their future.

That all came together in a dizzying, white-knuckle thrill-ride-of-a-final-season that will go down in television annals as one of the medium’s most singular achievements.

Breaking Bad traded in cynicism, but it could also be darkly funny and, when least expected, heartbreaking.

That doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and it doesn’t happen by accident. Cranston was the patriarch of the group and Gunn the den mother, on camera and off, but it didn’t end there.

In the final season, Norris’s Hank Schrader became the bright, moral core against which Walter White saw his own dark soul twisted and reflected back at him. Brandt’s Marie Schrader became the pale, ghostly image Skyler White saw herself becoming, every time she looked in the mirror.

Mitte, who played cerebral palsy-affected Walt, Jr., was himself diagnosed at an early age. Earlier this summer, as Breaking Bad was nearing the end of its heady run, Mitte recalled a conversation with Cranston in the first season, when he had a line that began, “everything I’ve been through,” and that shaped everything to come afterward.

Breaking Bad was about more than a simple chemical equation. It was about flesh-and-blood characters who, in the hands of its remarkable cast, came alive and provided the year’s finest moments on the small screen.

She came in like a wrecking ball. From the publicity stunts to the twerking, the broken engagement to the fellating of an innocent sledgehammer, Miley Cyrus owned entertainment headlines in 2013.

Though the pint-sized pop tart is currently my least favourite celebrity (which is truly saying something, given Justin Bieber’s behaviour), there’s also no denying that she’s the most notable. In fact, Cyrus became so synonymous with celebrity’s vulgar status quo that her heir apparent — a level-headed teen singer named Lorde (see No. 7) — was partially propelled to stardom on the steam of being “the anti-Miley.”

Not a month went by where we weren’t reminded, in some unfortunate way, that the one-time Disney darling was leading the charge for an apocalypse of biblical proportions. The best we could do was start building arks.

“Highlights” included a soft-core porn shoot with photographer Terry Richardson; pleasuring herself with a giant foam finger at an MTV awards show; sparking a joint on stage at another awards show; riding a wrecking ball naked in a viral music video; and helping make “twerk” the runner-up on Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year list.

Add that to a high-profile feud with Sinead O’Connor, being voted the hottest woman in the world by men’s mag Maxim, a hugely successful takeover of Saturday Night Live, and splitting with Hunger Games’ actor Liam Hemsworth, and you’ve got a solid argument for Cyrus being 2013’s biggest thing.

Now if we could just make her go away.

— Misty Harris

3. Jennifer Lawrence

From the moment she tripped on to the stage to claim her best-actress statuette for Silver Linings Playbook last February, Jennifer Lawrence found a foothold in our hearts as a different kind of female ingenue, one who wasn’t just fiercely talented and photogenic, she was also spunky and smart and just a little bit goofy.

It’s the goofball that makes her special because in the end, that’s where we all live: In that giddy chasm between comedy and tragedy where we’re either redeemed through the light of forgiveness or damned to the darkness of self-denial. It takes most actors a lifetime to reach a place where they can comfortably inhabit this ill-defined, existential void and reflect it back to us with a sense of compassion and purpose. But at the age of 23, the Louisville-born Lawrence has already circumnavigated the poles of human frailty a few times over.

From her breakout turn in Debra Granik’s Winter’s Bone which earned her an Oscar nod in 2010, to her haunting embodiment of romantic hurt in Drake Doremus’s Like Crazy, Lawrence’s talent for drama is undeniable. Yet, she’s also able to crank up an action movie with the same finesse, as she proved in X-Men: First Class and now The Hunger Games, one of the biggest franchises to hit the multiplex since Harry Potter. The second instalment, Catching Fire, has already racked up one-third of a billion bucks in domestic receipts, making Lawrence a marquee star and a bankable Hollywood commodity. Combine that with her ability to play a teen hero (The Hunger Games) with the same aplomb as a mature and somewhat neurotic grown-up (Silver Linings Playbook) and Lawrence marches to the front of the pack as a surprisingly versatile American talent. And with her new role in Russell’s American Hustle already earning more Oscar buzz for 2013, Lawrence stands uncontested as the mistress of movie mojo.

— Katherine Monk

Jennifer Lawrence

4. Premium television

Dollar for dollar, what provided the most entertainment in 2013? For me, it was premium TV channels, hands down. Sure, our monthly cable bill is on par with sending a child to uni, but what riches that money brings! Besides, TV is always there, as compared to a child, who will eventually leave (and probably complain that Mom never paid them attention, as she was too busy watching all those glorious shows on TV).

From Game of Thrones’ Red Wedding — you know nothing, Robb Stark! — to the slow burn of The Bridge to the Shakespearean machinations of Sons of Anarchy, my PVR is (OK, PVRs are) overflowing with the glowing wealth of the second golden age of television. Need proof? Watch one episode of Veep and tell me that Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s profanity-packed turn as a frustrated second-in-command isn’t worth the dough.

Sure, there are standouts on the standard broadcasters (The Good Wife, Hannibal and Scandal among them), but a few dollars more gains viewers access to a brave new world that includes The Walking Dead (AMC), The Americans (FX Canada) and Top of the Lake (Bravo).

Plus, this is the gift that keeps on giving: January sees the return of Justified and Girls as well as the highly anticipated premiere of True Detective, with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson no less. It just goes to show: You get what you pay for.

— Ruth Myles

5. Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro was known as the lethal Taxi Driver and the murderous mob guy in Goodfellas. Lately he’s adding some chuckles to his “knuckles” roles in a busy 2013.

In The Family, he was the Mafia capo in the witness protection program trying to survive in a small French village. There was lots of gunplay in the crime comedy, but there were just as many giggles. The movie even references Goodfellas to good comic effect.

“If there’s humour connected to it, that’s good,” said De Niro, leading up to the film. “And it helps if it’s a real integral, organic part of the whole story.”

Next up was the farce Last Vegas with fellow Oscar winners Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline. This Christmas he returned to the ring in Grudge Match against Sylvester Stallone. It’s been billed as Raging Bull versus Rocky, but the intention is to get some laughs. He also has a cameo in American Hustle, reuniting with Silver Linings Playbook director David O. Russell.

He’s a busy guy, yet the 70-year-old shrugs off the heavy workload.

“I don’t really do as many movies as you think. My movies are spread out more, but they release them when they want.”

— Bob Thompson

Robert De Niro, left — with Jon Bernthal in a scene from Grudge Match

6. Alice Munro

The soft-spoken, self-deprecating 82-year-old Canadian icon doesn’t fit the traditional mould of entertainer. But it was certainly her year.

Earlier this month, the Ontario writer was feted in Stockholm after daughter Jenny accepted the Nobel Prize for literature on her behalf. It was awarded to the veteran writer for her 2012 collection, Dear Life. Proclaimed “the master of the contemporary short story” by the Swedish Academy, Munro was described as a “stunningly precise” writer with an “astonishing power of perception” and ability to give her character’s lives “remarkable dignity.” The medal, which includes a $1.2-million award, was handed out Dec. 10. Munro was too frail to travel to Stockholm to accept the prize herself.

But in a film shot by Nobel organizers earlier, she summed up her motivation: “I want people to find not so much inspiration as great enjoyment. That’s what I want: I want people to enjoy my books, to think of them as related to their own lives in ways.”

Praise is nothing new for Munro, of course. Over the years, she has won every literary prize imaginable, including two Gillers, three Governor General’s Literary Awards, an O. Henry Award and Booker Prize. She has been honoured so many times that she actually withdrew her 2009 book Too Much Happiness from Giller contention, presumably to give other authors a chance to win.

She is the 13th women to win the Nobel Prize in Literature and the first Canadian-based author to receive it.

— Eric Volmers

7. Lorde

Of the myriad rising pop stars that shone bright in 2013’s big musical universe, few went supernova as quickly as viral pop hit Ella Yelich-O’Connor. The 17-year-old songstress from New Zealand took over just about every possible mode of communication with her single Royals, on which she sang about her disconnect with celebutante pop, fancy cars and entitled luxury (“That kind of luxe just ain’t for us/We need a different kind of buzz”).

Yes, with the insane amount of exposure — from appearing on Jimmy Fallon and covering Tears for Fears’ Everybody Wants to Rule the World for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack, to being spun in high rotation on just about every radio station around the globe) — came the inevitable backlash.

In particular, one blogger took offence to her reference to gold teeth and uber bling car manufacturer Maybach, which the writer aligned with Lorde making a comment on black hip-hop culture. Ultimately, though, it showed the blogger’s own racial bias more than anything else, as these elements are prevalent in high stakes pop of any kind, race excluded.

That said, the incessant marketing surrounding Royals and Lorde’s debut album Pure Heroine certainly paid off, with the singer garnering four Grammy nominations including record of the year, song of the year and pop vocal performance of the year. Already over-exposed, yes. But if there were an antidote to Miley Cyrus’s brand of faux shock in 2013, Lorde was it.

He’s played a law-abiding trucker who has to pretend to be a drug dealer to save his son, and a jumbo-sized soldier who vanquishes the bad guys. He’s a large but innocent weightlifter involved in a comically brainless kidnap scheme and part of a fast-driving crew of tough guys who outsmart and out-drive a group of criminal wheelmen. And just to cap off his year, he plays a policeman trying to stop an armoured car robbery in a rush-to-video caper movie.

Throw in the biggest, whitest smile in cinema and a pair of biceps the size of his box office receipts — some $450 million in 2013 — and you have a pretty good year for Dwayne Johnson.

The former wrestler and football player (a year in Calgary) who became an action star was in five films in 2013: Snitch, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Pain & Gain, Fast & Furious 6 and (the stinker) Empire State. He doesn’t have a whole lot of range, but Johnson is turning out to be a better actor than you might expect from someone of his size and wrestling background. His trucker in Snitch, for instance, shows a touching vulnerability that would be easier to buy if Johnson didn’t tower over the actors who were supposed to be intimidating him.

He’s become a reliable draw, and while his name alone may not open a film, he’s a strong part of any muscular ensemble (opposite Mark Wahlberg in Pain & Gain, say, or Channing Tatum — another busy hunk — in G.I. Joe or the always-game Vin Diesel in the Fast & Furious franchise). Johnson is the rock of the year, the foundation of those movies that sit happily on the bottom of the double-bill and on top of the box office, holding space for all the fancy-pants Oscar bait.

— Jay Stone

9. Orange Is the New Black

What began as a trivial yet enticing Netflix series about a well-to-do white woman who serves time for transporting drug money turned out to be one of the year’s most intriguing shows.

Taylor Schilling had our heartstrings from the start as Piper Chapman, whose plans to marry her true love (Jason Biggs) and start up a beauty business with her BFF are put on hold for 15 months so she can pay the price for her wild drug-trafficking days with ex-lover Alex (Laura Prepon). But from the moment OItNB goes behind bars, it’s the backstories of the women Piper encounters that hold us captive. Creator Jenji Kohan (Weeds) brilliantly weaves their answers to the common question “what are you in for?” into the drama of Chapman’s increasingly complicated prison life while maintaining her trademark black humour.

And while Schilling — who’s up for a Golden Globe for her part — carries her weight, OItNB is a team effort, with strong support from Prepon as brash yet heartbroken Alex, Natasha Lyonne as ex-addict Nicky, Kate Mulgrew as maternal Russian Red, Taryn Manning as Chapman’s eerily hardcore Christian nemesis Tiffany and Uzo Aduba as the lovable Crazy Eyes.

Whether you tuned in for OItNB’s July start date or bought into the hype later on, the Netflix exclusive’s 13 episodes likely demanded your constant attention, especially as the first season drew to a nail-biting close. And that’s binge viewing — at its finest. The wait for Season 2 continues …

— Lindsey Ward

Laura Prepon (L) and Taylor Schilling (R) in Orange is the New Black.

10. Scott Wentworth

Actor Scott Wentworth was already working a full schedule at last year’s Stratford Festival when the call came to do more.

He was giving a wonderful lead performance as the philosophical milkman, Tevye, in the festival’s hit production of the musical, Fiddler on the Roof, and was also playing Capulet in Romeo and Juliet.

But then, in late June, when Wentworth was already dealing with a heavy workload, the festival was hit with an emergency. Veteran actor Brian Bedford, who had been set to play Shylock in a late-season revival of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, was forced to withdraw for health reasons. With rehearsals already underway, who could the festival find on such short notice?

Artistic director Antoni Cimolino turned to Wentworth, long one of the most dependable members of the Stratford acting company and an artist versatile enough to move easily between Shakespeare and musical theatre. To tackle Shylock when he was already involved in two major productions was daunting. Wentworth said later that there were times when he was so exhausted that he would go to sleep on his dressing-room floor between performances. But he learned his lines in time, and a superb characterization of Shylock was clearly taking shape during the rehearsal period. So when Merchant finally opened in August, Wentworth had another memorable achievement on his hands. He had also scored a first in the annals of acting — portraying two of theatre’s seminal Jewish characters in repertory in the same season, and often on the same day.

The past season also marked Wentworth’s triumphant return to the festival stage after an extended absence during the regime of previous artistic director Des McAnuff. It was so good to have him back.

— Jamie Portman

11. Drake

To see this urban act live right now is to experience a kind of post-modernist idol worship, because Drake isn’t showing up at sold-out arenas to perform music. The adoring audience has that already. What they want is to be in the presence of the man who they want to be with — whether spiritually or sexually.

Any other act that would devote upwards of 25 minutes walking a moving catwalk around the arena to point out people with all the honesty of a carnival medium — “I see you baby in the polka-dot shirt, man you look so fine tonight” — and have them totally losing it over every word. When he actually performed a full song in his show, it was awesome though. Maybe that’s the point. The Toronto-born rapper has it all.

— Stuart Derdeyn

Drake in Toronto on Wednesday October 23, 2013.

12. Joanne Kilbourn

Regina author Gail Bowen smilingly observed a few months ago that she didn’t waste time agonizing over the need to write “the great Canadian novel.” She was content with the success she had carved out for herself as the author of a consistently absorbing series of crime stories featuring a most unexpected sleuth in the person of Saskatchewan academic and social activist Joanne Kilbourn.

The character has been around a long time — since the 1990 publication of Deadly Appearances. When Bowen’s 14th Kilbourn novel, The Gifted, was published in the summer, she took quiet pride in the fact that she was continuing to survive in an increasingly volatile publishing landscape while remaining true to her principles.

Unlike some other Canadian crime novelists who give their books American or British settings to make them more marketable internationally, Bowen has remained loyal to the province of Saskatchewan and in particular the city of Regina where she makes her home. The books have an acute sense of time and place.

“I felt really strongly about the fact that as a Canadian and as a Westerner, I should be writing about what I knew,” she said in an interview last summer.

It’s also characteristic of Bowen that she uses her success to assist needy causes. So she regularly auctions off characters’ names — in one instance raising $12,000 for Oxfam by inviting colleagues at the university where she taught to bid on getting included in her next book, with the highest bidder winning.

Bowen estimates that her auctions have raised more than $50,000 over the years. But she always promises that the successful bidder won’t end up as a villain or a corpse. This lady is clearly one of a kind.

— Jamie Portman

13. Settle (album)

Navigating the sub-divisional minefields of dance music in 2013 can be a risky proposition. And no artist or group in recent times has walked that fine line between authenticity and accessibility with as much confidence and ease as Disclosure, a pair of young brothers (one still in his teens) from Surrey, England.

Their bountiful debut album Settle, which topped the charts in their native land, plays like a thoughtfully assembled compilation devoid of filler. It could serve as a great workout soundtrack, if all you’re looking for is a steady beat to play in the background.

If you’re looking for something deeper, Settle can elicit more than just a kinetic response. Guy and Howard Lawrence demonstrate a keen understanding of dance music history throughout, even if they’re never beholden to any particular scene.

The duo’s ability to extract elements from these sub-genres — a drum pattern here or a bass line there — and repurpose them as sleek, contagious would-be singles is what makes them such promising composers. They’re big-tent DJs with the potential to shift the entire pop landscape.

Amid a sea of harsh dance-pop sounds designed for immediate impact, Disclosure’s unpretentious productions mark a refreshing return to simplicity. Settle is a mainstream dance record that doesn’t compromise in either direction.

— Erik Leijon

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/year-in-review-the-top-entertainers-of-2013/feed12013 American Music Awards - Arrivalspostmedianews1Breaking BadJennifer LawrenceGrudge MatchTeen recording artist Lorde has been widely hailed as "the anti-Miley." Orange is the New Black, OITNB, Laura PreponDrake keeps an eye on the action as the Toronto Raptors take on the Memphis Grizzlies during second half pre-season NBA action in Toronto on Wednesday October 23, 2013.2-year-old’s amazing trick shot video features Channing Tatum and Bradley Cooperhttp://o.canada.com/technology/internet/two-year-olds-amazing-trick-shot-video-features-channing-tatum-and-bradley-cooper
http://o.canada.com/technology/internet/two-year-olds-amazing-trick-shot-video-features-channing-tatum-and-bradley-cooper#commentsWed, 04 Dec 2013 22:36:38 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=362257Watch this video. Seriously, just watch it. The trick shots this two-year-old superstar is able to make are beyond impressive.

In this particular video, actors Channing Tatum and Bradley Cooper also make cameo appearances.

Back in February, Titus’ father, Joseph Ashby, released two other amazing trick shot videos featuring his impressive son. Titus’ skills were also featured on Jimmy Kimmel earlier this year.

In a 2012 interview with The Associated Press, the musician described himself as “nerdy” in high school but admitted he “did OK” with girls.

Levine takes the “sexiest” crown from actor Channing Tatum. He joins the ranks of Bradley Cooper, Ryan Reynolds, Brad Pitt and George Clooney, who all have received the honour.

The annual “sexiest man alive” issue of People magazine hits newsstands on Friday.

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/celebrity/adam-levine-named-sexiest-man-alive-by-people-magazine/feed1FILE: Adam Levine Is People's 'Sexiest Man Alive' Of 2013theassociatedpresscanadaNew on DVD for Nov. 5: Channing Tatum saves president, while Parkland kills him again (with video)http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/in-saxo-home-video-for-nov-5-channing-tatum-saves-president-while-parkland-kills-him-again
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/in-saxo-home-video-for-nov-5-channing-tatum-saves-president-while-parkland-kills-him-again#commentsTue, 05 Nov 2013 07:08:52 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=337550White House Down: Three stars out of five — No sooner does Gerard Butler save the White House than Channing Tatum butts in for his kick at the presidential can. The good news is White House Down is a lot better than Butler’s Olympus Has Fallen because it’s almost — and I mean almost — believable. Here, James Woods plays the villain who just happens to be head of security at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. When his son is killed in the line of duty, he decides no other American boys should die in the Middle East — so he might as well nuke the whole region. The only thing standing in his way is a freelance security agent (Tatum) who just happens to be getting a White House tour when it’s taken by force. It’s all kind of Die Hard, complete with a kid in the suspense mix, and most of it is ridiculous, but it’s entertaining because the writers poke fun at Obama (Jamie Foxx plays the Commander in Chief) with subtle gags, such as drawers filled with Nicorette. Maggie Gyllenhaal keeps things touchie-feelie while Tatum gets thrown across the frame. Special features include gag reel, interviews, commentary and more.

Parkland: Two stars out of five — Something died inside the American soul when shots rang out in Dealey Plaza, which explains why Peter Landesman’s new JFK-assassination movie Parkland feels like a very long, tedious, plotless episode of CSI. Cast under a pall of cadaver yellow, the movie takes us back to Dallas on that fateful November day via a variety of plot lines. For instance, we watch Abraham Zapruder tell the employees at his ladieswear company to take a long lunch to watch the president drive by, and eventually, we watch two young surgical residents (Colin Hanks and Zac Efron) attend to the most powerful man on the planet at Parkland general hospital. For Landesman to name the whole movie after the place where both Kennedy and Oswald were pronounced dead is a convenient way of mashing the two narratives together, but it no doubt explains why Parkland feels like its wrestling with itself for the duration. This movie never finds a groove. Moreover, it never conjures a genuine emotion. Special features include commentary from director and former journalist Peter Landesman, deleted scenes and more.

Amanda Seyfried as Linda Lovelace in Lovelace.

Lovelace: Two stars out of five — Linda Lovelace starred in the most profitable pornographic film ever made, but the suburban girl without a gag reflex never made a penny. It’s a truth that’s hard to swallow, and it sits at the heart of Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s somewhat lacklustre biopic starring Amanda Seyfried as the unwitting porn goddess who redefined the industry through her memorable appearance in Deep Throat. A joyless, humourless and altogether bleak piece of work that begins with a teenage Linda sunbathing in her backyard, Lovelace seems more concerned with getting the period details right than actually crafting a human story. Every attempt to humanize the woman feels pitiful and marginally sexist, but thanks to Seyfried’s work and a jaw-dropping performance from Sharon Stone as Linda’s self-loathing mother, the movie won’t leave you entirely frustrated, just a little bored. Special features include an oral history of Linda Lovelace.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Extended Edition): Three stars out of five — Sure, you may already be on the Desolation of Smaug bus by now, but for those hardcore fans of Peter Jackson’s fantasy epics based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s work, you can prepare for the second Hobbit instalment by watching the first one over again — providing you don’t actually have a life, or anything. It was a long movie to begin with, but this five-disc edition makes it even longer. Oh yes, special features on this one include nine hours of new material, ranging from audio commentary with Peter Jackson to 13 whole minutes of extra footage in the feature itself. Other plusses include an entire Hobbit appendix, a no doubt riveting featurette on New Zealand and much more.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Grown Ups 2: One star out of five — The first one was pretty bad, so if you have low expectations for Grown Ups 2, you may find yourself pleasantly numbed by the experience of watching this second piece of Adam Sandler silliness. A regressive fantasy, this one explores the idea of what might happen when you and all your best buddies from elementary school get back together in your old hometown and talk about the good old days — for the rest of your life. There’s something sad in this mix of big box of comedy cliché, but Sandler bypasses anything truly human in favour of computer-generated elks urinating. Special features include deleted scenes, digital copy and more.

The Best Years of Our Lives: Five stars out of five — They really do not make movies like this anymore, and we’re all poorer for it. In fact, if you’ve never seen this post-war Oscar winner about a man returning from the battlefield to discover the dynamics of his entire family have changed, you be slack-jawed by what you see. Even though it’s a black-and-white movie from 1946, the sensibility is so sophisticated and the dilemmas at hand so mature, it feels like something from a modern HBO drama. The only real difference is the characters aren’t entirely self-absorbed, speak in proper sentences without slang, and demonstrate enough patience and empathy to avoid stock drama moments. This best picture winner from William Wyler picked up a total of seven Academy Awards, including best director, best actor for Fredric March and best supporting actor for Harold Russell. Special features include fully restored digital transfer.

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/in-saxo-home-video-for-nov-5-channing-tatum-saves-president-while-parkland-kills-him-again/feed3White House DownkatherinemonkcanadacomFilm Review LovelaceThe Hobbit: An Unexpected JourneySorry, Miley. It’s time for a new kind of celebrityhttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/music/new-celebrity
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/music/new-celebrity#commentsFri, 18 Oct 2013 15:25:33 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=331034You know something’s afoot when radio’s biggest sensation is an anti-consumerist anthem performed by a teenager.

In Royals, 16-year-old Lorde makes hamburger of all her generation’s sacred cows, from fame and extravagance to flashy real estate and recklessness. Were the single released a year ago, it would’ve been the Millennial equivalent of Sex Pistols’ God Save the Queen – a cultural protest song masquerading as entertainment.

But at a moment when exhaustion with celebrity’s brash status quo is so palpable, you can almost hear the sigh — one generally aimed at Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and any given Kardashian — Lorde’s lyrics aren’t so much revolutionary as a neon sign of the times. Could it finally be time for a new kind of star?

“We’re seeing the emergence of people who are grateful, and who have either a genuine artistic desire or some kind of social message,” said Patricia Leavy, a sociologist with expertise in pop culture. “It’s in stark contrast to the overindulged celebrity who just wants to be famous.”

Miley Cyrus

In recent years, young Hollywood has been more useful for fuelling schadenfreude than art. What are Chris Brown, Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Bynes and Justin Bieber if not willing pin-cushions for tabloid editors?

At some point, however, the scandals became so commonplace that politesse was what truly seemed headline-worthy.

“People like things that are provocative, as it gives them something to talk about. But when it’s all they’re seeing over and over again, they start to recognize it for what it is: kind of pathetic,” said Leavy, author of American Circumstance.

One of the more telling moments came on a recent episode of The X Factor, in which Simon Cowell praised 15-year-old Danielle Geimer for lacking what the reality TV judge himself is notorious for: an inflated ego.

“You’ve come around at a time where you’ve got so many overconfident pop stars, and you fly in the face of that,” said Cowell. “You’re very humble, you’re very shy, and I hope you never change.”

Notably, during that same broadcast, another young woman — Primrose Martin — was dismissed by judge Demi Lovato for coming off as “too confident.”

Rebecca Sullivan, a professor at the University of Calgary, said it’s ultimately a reaction to the insolence of recent years seeming out of touch.

“There’s a sense that we’re screwing up — that our wasteful, commodity-oriented world is hurting us,” said Sullivan. “So we’re looking for celebrities that respond to these anxieties.”

And it’s hardly the first time this has happened. Sullivan noted, for example, that method acting was the response to Golden Age Hollywood, while the response to the “earnest pretention” of method acting was a rebirth of razzle dazzle.

“Right now, we’re returning to the quiet, thoughtful artist as celebrity, which is a response to a stage of excessive artifice and performance,” said Sullivan.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

The resistance arguably began with Jennifer Lawrence. The actress’s self-effacing, gracious and whip-smart interviews during Oscar season helped remind the world that young celebrities don’t have to be juggling rehab, court appearances, sexual partners and/or Restless Tongue Syndrome in order to be interesting.

Lawrence’s public embrace (bear hug, really) signalled that a changing of the guard was imminent.

“These ‘new’ celebrities tend to be people who weren’t raised in the industry; they’re people who’ve broken in,” said Julie Rak, a professor of English and film studies at the University of Alberta.

To be clear, this new constellation of stars isn’t necessarily the place to look for role models; drinking, drug use, smoking and even stripping are varyingly included on the Celebrity 2.0 CV. They just aren’t entitled, fame-obsessed media manipulators whose most prominent fans get their cardio by keeping up with the Kardashians.

“Audiences know more than they ever did before about how celebrity works,” said Rak. “And because social media is making it easier for different kinds of people to get their work noticed, we’re seeing a shift (in who’s respected).”

In fact, even the Duchess of Cambridge — best known as Kate Middleton — could be included among this new class of celebrity citizen. So says Audrey Brashich, a media critic from Vancouver who points to the affection people have for the future queen’s “ordinariness.”

“She’s a princess living the fairy tale, but had mummy tummy the day after having a baby instead of miraculously losing the weight as she walked out of the hospital,” said Brashich, author of All Made Up: A Girl’s Guide to Seeing Through Celebrity Hype and Celebrating Real Beauty. “Cheers to her for keeping it real.”

Brashich points especially to the role of media-education campaigns in opening the public’s eyes to marketers’ sleight-of-hand. She said the resulting savvy among online audiences is largely what’s making once-beloved stars and self-professed gurus now seem intolerable.

“It’s why Gwyneth (Paltrow) is seeing such a backlash. There’s no way she is who she is without the army of help, but she doesn’t cop to that publicly,” said Brashich.

“It’s not real and we know it. We don’t want to see the smoke and mirrors anymore.”

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/music/new-celebrity/feed2LordemistyharrisMiley CyrusJoseph Gordon-Levitthot or notDVD for July 30: G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Cloudburst and morehttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/dvd-for-july-30-gi-joe-retaliation-cloudburst-and-more
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/dvd-for-july-30-gi-joe-retaliation-cloudburst-and-more#respondTue, 30 Jul 2013 06:56:36 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=285526G.I. Joe: Retaliation: (2.5 stars/5) — As disjointed and frenetic as a Saturday morning cartoon from Japan, GI Joe: Retaliation could very well bring out your inner child, in addition to your inner child’s attention deficit disorder. A computer-generated adrenalin rush cast from the three-and-three-quarter inch moulds of the mid-80s variety of action figures, GI Joe: Retaliation relies on a convoluted thread of narrative featuring Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, Duke and Roadblock — to name but a few. The plotline remains fuzzy throughout, but thanks to the larger-than-life presence of Dwayne Johnson as well as Channing Tatum and Bruce Willis — who takes on the role of the seminal GI Joe — this piece of action-packed fluff from director John M. Chu somehow finds a human heartbeat in a squelching soundscape filled with gunfire. Special features include commentary by director Chu, GI Joe Declassified, spotlights on Cobra Strikes, Two Ninjas, Deployment and more, deleted scenes, DVD, Blu-ray and digital copy combo pack available.

Cloudburst: (3 stars/5) – Olympia Dukakis and Brenda Fricker play aging lesbian lovers in this sweet reel from Thom Fitzgerald (The Hanging Garden). Dot and Stella have been living together for 31 years. They are in love and they are committed, but when Dot’s granddaughter decides it’s time for her half-blind grandmother to move into an old folks home, the two women are separated. The only way to stay together is to stage a geriatric breakout, drive a getaway car to Canada, and get married. The plot has real world political content, but it’s the performances that make the movie such a treat as Dukakis embodies the old-school butch who’s learned to play out a masculine identity in order to survive and feel strong. Dukakis goes for broke in this heartbreaking part, and it makes all the difference as she finds the vulnerable woman hiding beneath a cowboy hat and calluses generated by rejection. Special features unavailable.

Cloudburst is directed by Thom Fitzgerald.

Bee Gees One Night Only: (3.5 stars/5) – If Daft Punk has inspired you to pull out your gold vest and polyester chemises, then you may want to get your disco hands on this concert movie of a BeeGees show recorded in Las Vegas on Valentine’s Day 1997. Featuring the three brothers Gibb in fine form, the set list includes all the biggest from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack (You Should be Dancing, Night Fever, Too Much Heaven, etc…) as well as lingering hits such as Guilty, Tragedy, Islands in the Stream, Grease and Jive Talking. Special features include interview with the band, bonus tracks and more.

The Devil’s Backbone: (3.5/5) – Thanks to the success of Pacific Rim, Guillermo del Toro is enjoying a surge in the spotlight, which means his work prior to Pan’s Labyrinth and Hellboy is getting a second chance. The Devil’s Backbone is easily one of his more successful spooky stories as it focuses on a young boy sent to an orphanage after his father is killed during the Spanish Civil War. At first, we think he’s just afraid because he’s on his own and the grown-ups are strict and religious. Yet, just when you think the child is unreliable and exaggerating, del Toro spits out the truth and lets it writhe around on the floor. Del Toro demonstrates a thorough knowledge of the psyche’s trap doors, and pulls every lever at just the right moment. Special features include 2K digital restoration, audio commentary from del Toro, new interview with del Toro, making-of documentary, drawings, Spanish Civil War documentary, trailer and more.

Black Rock (2.5/5) – Though it didn’t exactly light a critical fire at the Sundance Film Festival when it premiered last year, Katie Aselton’s Black Rock still deserves some attention for the mere fact it features three female leads – including Aselton herself, the romantic partner to rising indie star Mark Duplass, who penned the script for Black Rock — which bears some resemblance to their breakout Baghead, a bizarre blend of low-budget horror and romantic comedy. Black Rock is far darker, however, as it tells the story of three friends who get together for a weekend of camping, only to discover they are sharing their wilderness experience with sexually violent war veterans. Lake Bell doesn’t exactly prove to be a Burt Reynolds, but Kate Bosworth pulls off a pretty good Jon Voight in this fiddle-less, female take on the survival story. Special features include widescreen, Dolby and more.

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/dvd-for-july-30-gi-joe-retaliation-cloudburst-and-more/feed0G.I. JOE: RETALIATIONkatherinemonkcanadacomCloudburstPop Forecasthttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/pop-forecast
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/pop-forecast#respondFri, 21 Jun 2013 19:25:18 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=268938“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” but these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture offerings is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week.

• MOVIES
Big release: White House Down (June 28)
Big picture: It’s Die Hard meets The West Wing meets Channing Tatum’s abs meets Olympus Has Fallen…. Actually, it basically just IS Olympus Has Fallen. White House Down joins the latter as the second film of 2013 to portray a White House — and a president (in this case Jamie Foxx) — under siege by terrorists. As usual, only one alpha male can save the day. Tatum plays a cop (and, of course, rejected secret service agent) who becomes a one-man army in defence of the land of the free and the home of the depraved. The White House hasn’t been this under siege since the War of 1812.
Forecast: The words “From the director of Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow” tell you everything you need to know. Roland Emmerich loves grand, explosive confrontations — whether its humanity battling aliens, Will Smith battling Will Smith’s ego or the world battling climate change. In White House Down, Tatum takes on a tech-savvy, gunslinging paramilitary group. One of the film’s taglines is “our darkest secrets will become our greatest threat.” I can only imagine that means we’ll find out that spacefaring zombies landed at Roswell and killed Kennedy, and have been released by the terrorists from their secret White House bunker (This movie has to find some way to compete with World War Z after all).

Honourable Mention: The Heat (June 28). Hollywood has found another formula for success. Pair an “uptight character” with an outlandish, over-the-top character played by Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids). In theory, hilarity ensues. In The Heat, Sandra Bullock plays a conservative FBI agent paired up with a loudmouth cop (McCarthy). You might remember this premise from Identity Thief starring Jason Bateman as a buttoned-up businessman entangled with a loudmouth con artist (McCarthy). Future ideas? Christopher Walken plays a buttoned-up, eerily quiet grave robber paired with his abrasive younger sister (McCarthy); Transformers 5 starring a cowardly, risk-averse robotic minivan paired with a loudmouth, heroic mechanic (McCarthy); the pending Star Wars sequel with McCarthy as the new captain of the Millennium Falcon alongside Chewbacca, everyone’s favourite furry worrywart.

• TV
Big Event: Under the Dome (June 24, Global / CBS, 10 p.m. ET/PT)
Big picture: No, it’s not a documentary about Toronto Blue Jays’ baseball futility. In this adaptation of a Stephen King novel, the residents of a small town in Maine wake up one morning to find out their community has been turned into a municipal “bubble boy.” They’ve inexplicably been cut off from the outside world by a giant, transparent dome. The 13-episode miniseries co-stars Dean Norris (Breaking Bad), Mike Vogel and Rachelle Lefevre (Twilight, Barney’s Version). When the kindly townsfolk are cut off from the rest of humanity, it doesn’t take long for them to transform into the cast of Sons of Anarchy.
Forecast: Viewers bored to tears by summer reruns will gladly enter this dome. But the Maine setting misses the mark. At this point in Toronto’s ongoing Rob Ford fiasco, I think most Canadians would be happy to see a dome descend on the “Centre of the Universe.” As a bonus, no more Leaf fans griping over the elusive Stanley Cup. They can form a one-team Under the Dome Hockey League and win the championship every year.

Honourable Mentions: Dexter, Ray Donovan (June 30, The Movie Network, 9 p.m. ET/MT; Movie Central, 9 p.m. MT/8 p.m. PT). A two-for-one deal on TV drama! First, Dexter enters its bloody final season. Will anti-hero serial killer Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) finally go to prison, end up six feet under or wrap the series free as a bird (Maybe he can retire from the Miami police force and help Norman run the Bates Motel?). In the new season, Dexter meets his own Dr. Frankenstein — a psychologist who helped write the murderous “code” he lives by. Meanwhile, in the new drama Ray Donovan, Liev Schreiber plays a Hollywood fixer who does the dirty work for the L.A. elite – from athletes and movie stars to business moguls. I assume this means dealing with 4 a.m. calls from Ke$ha for “500 pounds of body glitter and a truckload of gin” or Tom Cruise’s repeat requests for “a time machine to go back before that whole Oprah couch incident.” Good luck, Ray. You’re going to need it.

• MUSIC
Big releases on June 25: Mavis Staples (One True Vine); John Legend (Love in the Future)
Big picture: Given the title, am I the only one (other than Charlie Sheen and your Roomba) hoping Legend’s new album is about sex with robots? The smooth R&B crooner is back with his first album since 2010’s Wake Up!, which fell a little short of commercial expectations. But you know the old saying: “Yeezus saves.” That’s right, Kanye West himself produced Legend’s new effort. As for Mavis Staples, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy produces — and plays most of the instruments — on another stellar solo album from the venerable soul singer. Staples’ powerful, husky voice takes centre stage in gospel numbers, covers and three songs written by Tweedy himself (including the title track).
Forecast: Legend has placed his own legend in the hands of a higher power, but Staples is the One True Vine — a vintage performer who keeps getting better with age.
twitter.com/PopForecast

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/pop-forecast/feed0White House Downaramshaw2012Summer movie previewhttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/preview-ailing-planet-earth-provides-central-theme-for-summer-movie-fun
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/preview-ailing-planet-earth-provides-central-theme-for-summer-movie-fun#respondThu, 18 Apr 2013 15:22:28 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=233755Poor Earth. Every summer, it starts to look like a Walmart on a Saturday morning: An overpopulated wasteland of cars, packaging and cheap promotion — and that’s just at the local multiplex.

Summer movies depend on catastrophic spectacle, and while many movies offer seasonal fun in galaxies far, far away, this year the destruction takes place on planet Earth.

From the self-revealing After Earth and the latest take on Star Trek, to Matt Damon and Jodie Foster’s Elysium, there’s an overwhelming sense of the apocalypse in the cinema zeitgeist right now that leaches right into the Brad Pitt — who also faces an end-of-times premise in World War Z.

Fortunately, for every disaster looming on the deep blue summer horizon, there’s a superhero equally suited — in equally deep blue — for the challenge. Whether it’s a cop who takes on corruption in R.I.P.D or the Man of Steel himself, the viewer can rest assured help is on the way.

Even art film lovers won’t be left out in the scorching heat as they find air-conditioned comfort.Here’s a look at the highlights from the seasonal menu:

POPCORN

Iron Man 3 (May 3): With a cast that boasts Oscar winners Ben Kingsley and Gwyneth Paltrow, not to mention Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall and Paul Bettany, Robert Downey Jr.’s latest outing as playboy Tony Stark looks from the list of credits more like an art film than summer fluff. But Marvel fans needn’t fear an explosive version of My Dinner with Andre. The movie directed by Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), who takes over from Jon Favreau, promises all the same outsider sarcasm that branded the franchise as edgy and decidedly human — for a superhero movie, that is. Even the villain, played by Kingsley, is just an ordinary mortal maniacally seeking greatness.

Star Trek Into Darkness (May 17): James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) finally gets to plonk his patootie into the captain’s chair on the Enterprise, which means this second chapter in the J.J. Abrams Star Trek origin story will put every Trekkie on familiar ground — which could be good, or bad, depending on how much licence Abrams takes with the holy Roddenberry gospel. So far the buzz seems focused on the collapse of civilization on Earth, which the series assumed as a given, but never fully explored. Time to send an away team, and watch the body count rise.

After Earth (June 7): It’s a new movie from M. Night Shyamalan. Hey, where ya goin? Just because I said Shyamalan doesn’t mean you have to run away faster than Flash. After all, he didn’t even originate the script for this Will Smith-Jaden Smith family affair. The idea of a post-Apocalypse Earth came from the star, Will Smith, who approached Shyamalan to direct this dystopian fantasy about a planet where all human life has vanished and the animal kingdom is back on top.

Man of Steel

Man of Steel (June 14): Though director Zack Snyder didn’t win over a lot of fans with his bizarre, backward feminist story Suckerpunch, he’s still the go-to guy for special-effects-heavy epic drama, and nothing could suit his talents better than an updated take on the Man of Steel. With British star Henry Cavill (Theseus, from Immortals) starring as the dual lead of Clark Kent/Superman, we needn’t worry about a one-dimensional hunk mumbling through the pages of dialogue. Yet with Michael Shannon getting a chance to play supervillain, and the somewhat Nietzschean Snyder behind the camera, just about everything about this take on Superman suggests something in true 3D.

World War Z (June 21): Brad Pitt co-stars with the brain-dead — and brain-hungry — in this adaptation of the Max Brooks (son of Mel) bestseller about an infectious disease that turns great swaths of the population into zombies. With Marc Forster (Monster’s Ball, Finding Neverland, Stranger Than Fiction) directing this epic, mega-budget action-horror-drama hybrid, we can bet this baby will have a mutant look and some rather sharp teeth — which is kind of what you’d want from a summer zombie movie.

The Wolverine (June 26): He can sing. He can dance. He can host an Oscar broadcast and he can charm the ladies off their feet. But if there’s one thing Hugh Jackman can do better than anyone else, it’s snarling like a wild animal while flexing his mighty muscles. And now that Jackman is part of the production team on this venerable X-Men Marvel spinoff, he can flex his muscle on the whole movie, which bodes well for this compelling superhero character writhing with rage — and ultra-strong metallic implants. This chapter, directed by James Mangold (Cop Land), features Wolverine in Japan, where he finds his mettle tested in a variety of new ways.

The Lone Ranger (July 3): It’s a good thing the executives decided to unveil early that insane picture of Johnny Depp in war paint and a hat fashioned from a leftover from The Birds. We won’t be giggling for the first half hour of this new flick from Gore Verbinski that features Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer as the Lone Ranger. Though facing big guns from the competition, formula says these two BFFs on horseback will have enough wits to survive the summer box-office shootout.

R.I.P.D. (July 19): Splicing the genre pool wide open, this new movie starring Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges is a story about corrupt cops, and a new force of undead men in blue who decide to clean up the city. Mary-Louise Parker and Kevin Bacon also star, making this one a real curiosity.

Elysium (Aug 9): If you’re the kind of person looking for a truly smart summer blockbuster, you’ll be tickled to know Matt Damon and Jodie Foster headline Neill Blomkamp’s (District 9) sci-fi update on the Upstairs Downstairs concept, with an apocalyptic twist. The Earth is so polluted, only the poor folk call it home. The rich live in orbiting colonies, untainted by the seething riff-raff below. Of course, one man will try to change all that — and that one man is Matt Damon. So good luck, you Gucci-wrapped, future aristocrats. You don’t stand a chance against the guy who played Jason Bourne.

Epic

KIDS COMBO

Epic (May 24): Just when you thought the next generation was getting too big for its own britches, along comes a kids fable about a teenager who is shrunk down to insect level, where she encounters an entire cast of humanoid characters under attack. With Colin Farrell and Amanda Seyfried joining the stellar roster of vocal talent that includes Beyoncé Knowles and Steven Tyler, everything about this piece feels animated before the first pixel even hits the screen.

Monsters University (June 21): Consider it a prequel to the fantastically successful Monsters Inc., and a good bet for the box-office derby, as Disney goes back to old racehorses Billy Crystal and John Goodman for another run around the paddock as Mike and Sully, the two lovable monsters who make it their job to give kids nightmares. Here, we flash back to their crouton days in university, before their monster friendship ripened like a hockey bag on a hot day.

Despicable Me 2 (July 3): A new villain comes to unseat the old, and recently transformed, Gru (Steve Carell) in this followup to the whimsical winner about finding empathy. One can only imagine what kind of role Al Pacino will play in the computer-generated denouement, but if he’s allowed to exchange more than two lines with Kristen Wiig — who also voices with Carell, Russell Brand and Steve Coogan — it will be worth the admission.

Turbo (July 17): It’s the little snail that could: Ryan Reynolds creates a slime trail through the theatre lobby as the voice of Turbo, a garden snail that miraculously gains the power to travel extremely fast, and rewrite every joke in the book. Don’t take out the salt jar, unless you’re planning on rimming that margarita: It has promise thanks to Reynolds (a good comic talent), Paul Giamatti (an animated movie natural) and Bill Hader (the SNL guy who does that Italian thing) sharing the voice duties.

Planes (Aug. 9): Because the box office, and the gas pump, prove we can’t get enough of Cars, here comes Planes, a new movie from the people who anthropomorphize engines. The dilemma in this fuming beast is family fuselage: A poor crop duster dreams of competing in an all-star aerial race to win the respect of his friends and family. Perhaps he’ll discover big dreams are enough to get him off the ground. Val Kilmer, Julia-Louis Dreyfus and Dane Cook pour their talents the tank.

Monsters University

BRAIN FOOD

The Great Gatsby 3D (May 10): Baz Luhrmann hasn’t made a feature film since the continental flop called Australia set him adrift in an ocean of box-office poison. Since then, the director who rose to fame on the elevated heels of Strictly Ballroom has been busy making shorts. Judging from the high-intensity trailer for this new Leonardo DiCaprio-Carey Mulligan vehicle, scored to a shrieking cover of Happy Together by Filter, it won’t put its audience to sleep — which is what happened the last time F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Stutz Bearcat left the garage with Mia Farrow and Robert Redford in the front seat of a Francis Ford Coppola screenplay.

Blue Jasmine (Aug. 2): Woody Allen isn’t spilling the beans on the plot for this new movie starring Cate Blanchett and Alec Baldwin, and it doesn’t matter one bit. The very idea of these two sharing the screen under Allen’s tutelage makes the imagination wander is all sorts of charming, if inconsequential and probably random, directions.

REGURGITATED FODDER

The Hangover Part III (May 24): Was it too much popcorn, or just the long car ride to the theatre? Your tummy may not be your best companion for this final (one hopes) chapter in the highly successful Hangover series. But cautionary tales about over-indulging in alcohol with scoundrel friends are a social good, however, so take a Gravol before you reunite with Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms and the now ubiquitous Melissa McCarthy.

The Internship (June 7): Not since Wedding Crashers have Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn been able to backslap one another for the duration of a movie, but the wait is over. The two good ol’ boys resurface as out-of-work salesmen competing for an internship at Google.

The Heat (June 28): If the boys can have their silly fun, why not the gals, too? Paul Feig returns from his Bridesmaids honeymoon to direct Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy in this story of two mismatched cops forced to work together. Think Cagney and Lacey with lots of expletives and physical gags.

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” sang Bob Dylan, but these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture offerings is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week.

• MOVIES

Big release: 42 (April 12)

The big picture: No, it’s not the new Scary Movie — also premiering this week. (Though it certainly feels like that franchise has hit 42). 42 tells the tale of baseball legend Jackie Robinson and his historical racial breakthrough in America’s favourite pastime. Harrison Ford plays Brooklyn Dodgers team executive Branch Rickey, who made history — and a lot of enemies — with the historical signing. Chadwick Boseman steps up to the plate to inhabit Robinson’s larger-than-life persona.

Forecast: This is a baseball story that screams for big-screen treatment. What took Hollywood so long? (Safe to say, this film would have been made a lot sooner if Robinson’s biography included a friendship with an Autobot, a G.I. Joe or a member of The Avengers). I have a suggestion for the next Hollywood baseball film: 61 (alternate title: Field of Testosterone Dreams). The infamous story of Sammy Sosa, played by Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson, and Mark McGwire (my bet’s on Channing Tatum). Robinson broke the race barrier. They broke the morality barrier in their 1998 steroid-fuelled race to top Roger Maris’s long-standing home run record of 61.

Ashley Tisdale in Scary Movie 5

Honourable mention: Scary Movie 5. On the negative side, there’s another scary movie. On the positive side, it’s nice to know the troubled quartet of Lindsay Lohan, Ashley Tisdale, Heather Locklear and Charlie Sheen can still find big-screen work. No, I’m not kidding. They’re all in the cast. This Scary Movie gets its laughs at the expense of the Paranormal Activity franchise and, unintentionally, the state of a few movie careers.

• TV

Big event: MTV Movie Awards (MTV, April 14, 9 p.m. ET/PT)

Big picture: The MTV Movie Awards deserve a lot of credit for not taking themselves too seriously — unlike their dull, pretentious older brother Oscar. This year’s nominations include one career plateau: Taylor Lautner for best shirtless performance in the The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2. With the end of the series, this will likely be Lautner’s last award nomination for … ANYTHING. EVER. The night also features one comical mismatch: The Hulk and Bilbo Baggins are among the contenders for best hero. “Hulk smash puny, puny, puny, puny human!”

Forecast: Relax. Enjoy. Take a load off. Unlike the Academy Awards, you don’t need to watch “because you feel like you have to” and then fall asleep on the couch somewhere around the award for best sound editing (i.e. 9 p.m.). To give credit where it’s due, it’s a rare year when two of the MTV Movie of the Year nominees (Django Unchained and Silver Linings Playbook) were also on the Oscar shortlist. Don’t expect Oscar 2014 to return the favour by giving G.I. Joe: Retaliation a best picture nod.

The Borgais

Honourable mention: The Borgias (April 14, Bravo, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT). Sure, the Vatican is beset by sex scandals, infighting and fear of joining the 21st (or even the 20th) century, but at least it didn’t elect THIS GUY to be the new pope. The masterful Jeremy Irons returns as Pope Alexander — the Tony Soprano of popes — as he clings to power after a failed assassination attempt. His scheming, dangerous family is — as always — at his side. The new season features incest, violence and a church on the cusp of war. My prediction? Montreal’s François Arnaud and Holliday Grainger will steal this season as troubled, ill-fated siblings Cesare and Lucrezia Borgias.

• MUSIC

Big release on April 9: British Sea Power (Machineries of Joy)

Big picture: These English indie rockers have always revelled in being eccentric, outlandish and over the top. Machineries of Joy doesn’t live up to their self-titled breakthrough, but it should offer a touch of joy to those music fans interested in more than Billboard rock. The album borrows its title from a Ray Bradbury story collection — not the first time these Brighton lads have been influenced by the works of the sci-fi and horror guru. (And there are far worse influences. I’m pretty sure Ke$ha’s songwriting is inspired by the litter she finds in the alleyways where she wakes up each morning.)

Forecast: All aboard. A musical ship worth setting sail on — at least for a trip or two.

The second movie based on a Hasbro line of toy soldiers features Channing Tatum, Dwayne (formerly “The Rock”) Johnson, Bruce Willis and Palicki.

“Yeah, my job doesn’t suck,” said the 29-year-old promoting the film at a Beverly Hills hotel. “But they were so cool you’d forget they are famous, so it was like summer camp on set, but summer camp with lots of explosions.”

In the 3D movie, Palicki plays G. I. Joe sharpshooter Lady Jaye, who is part of the strategic Special Forces unit headed up by Duke (Tatum), Roadblock (Johnson) and Flint (D. J. Cotrona).

When the Joes are nearly wiped out during a surprise attack, the survivors begin to suspect they have been set up by a high-ranking U.S. official.

That’s when General Joseph Colton (Willis) decides to come out of retirement to help the remaining Joes thwart Cobra Commander (Luke Bracey), whose goal is world domination by cornering the market on nuclear weapons.

Massive firefights, hand-to-hand combat scenes and a few inventive martial arts sequences abound just as they had in the first picture, G. I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. And why not follow the formula? The 2009 movie raked in a respectable $302.5 million worldwide.

But Palicki said director John M. Chu expected his cast to provide more depth to their characters despite the non-stop action.

“It was important (to Chu) that we create characters with layers and depth because those are the only reasons you care,” Palicki said. “So we had some comedy, some emotion and tons of action in a movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously.”

That didn’t mean the actress was excused from the pre-production preparation of a gruelling boot camp with Navy SEALs.

“They did whip us into shape for a month and a half of eight-hour days,” Palicki said. “There were tears definitely but by the time I finished, all the running, jumping and shooting became second nature to me, so I could work on the performance.”

Luckily, the 5-foot-11 Palicki was the athletic type growing up in Toledo, Ohio. In high school, she ran track, played some basketball and also became involved with the theatre club. By the time she was considering university she was hooked on acting.

“I was filling out college applications and I thought to myself, ‘Why am I going to put myself in such significant debt when I am not really interested in it?”

Within months, she moved out to Los Angeles and began auditioning. “In my head, it was going to be so easy.”

Typically, it was tough. She thought she’d made it playing the evil Nadia in an Aquaman pilot but it didn’t get picked up. She landed a role in Smallville and then not much happened for her.

In 2006, Palicki won the coveted role of sexy Tyra on the acclaimed series Friday Night Lights. She was showcased for three seasons and returned for the final two episodes in 2011. That same year she also landed the part of Wonder Woman on the David E. Kelley remake of the show, but it was never aired.

On the movie front, she co-starred in Legion with Paul Bettany and Dennis Quaid and appeared in last year’s remake of Red Dawn opposite Chris Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson.

Besides G. I. Joe, she’s in the low-budget flick Coffee Town set for release later in the year and she’ll arrive in Toronto soon to start filming the romantic comedy Dr. Cabbie.

All things considered, Palicki is hoping the second G. I. Joe will lead to a third one for her and the reboot of her career.

However, she’s been disappointed before by great expectations, so she tries to keep her ambitions in perspective.

“The thing is I have no choice,” she said. “I have so little control in this business. I can only control how I react to it.”

As disjointed and frenetic as a Saturday morning cartoon from Japan, GI Joe: Retaliation could very well bring out your inner child, in addition to your inner child’s attention deficit disorder.

A 3D adrenaline rush cast from the three-and-three-quarter inch moulds of the mid-80s variety of action figures, GI Joe: Retaliation relies on a convoluted thread of narrative featuring Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, Duke and Roadblock — to name but a few.

Some of these characters are good. Some are bad. And some, well, it’s hard to keep track because there are a lot of silicon masks, and some characters switch sides halfway through this dizzying, star-studded silliness.

To be honest, I’m not quite sure exactly what happens — or why — in this movie, but then again, I could never follow an entire episode of Transformers, either.

These latter-day brand-heavy entertainments have no urgent desire to tell a timeless story. They don’t even want to make you think. From the moment the Hasbro logo shimmers onto the screen in three metallic dimensions, G.I. Joe’s sole mission is to keep you entertained using any means possible.

The first device is visual. Carefully weaving the benefits of computer-generated effects with live-action stunt work, this second G.I. Joe movie finds a highly seductive balance between heart-pumping humanity and what’s dazzlingly unreal.

One entire sequence takes place on the side of a massive mountain as good ninjas and bad ninjas dance across a cliff face, while another features the wholesale destruction of a heavily populated European city.

Ray Park, left, and Dwayne Johnson

Granted, we’ve seen most of this before, but director John M. Chu brings a novel edge to the proceedings by bringing just the right tone.

Unlike Michael Bay, who strapped his heart and soul to the oversized rocket of Transformers, Chu realizes he’s making a Saturday morning matinee and keeps the epic hardware in his jumpsuit.

Even with the massive frame of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson standing tall against a big-budget production design, the movie feels more human than most of these plasticized, product-driven outings.

This emotional accessibility, facile as it is, is the central reason why G.I. Joe: Retaliation has any modicum of charm, and it’s largely thanks to the chemistry between Channing Tatum and The Rock, as well as the inimitable smirk of Bruce Willis.

Tatum and Johnson get a chance to play out the rituals of male bonding in the trenches, while Willis carries the flag for the aging warriors sent out to pasture before their time.

Perhaps the inclusion of G.I. Jaye (Adrienne Palicki) was also meant to emphasize the human element as she provides a whisper of romance and a father-daughter theme line, but to most eyeballs, she is merely more man-cake décor: A Barbie body wearing G.I. Joe’s clothes.

Frankly, they deserve credit for even trying to embrace a feminine perspective in this film because the whole franchise is so earnestly masculine. Even the requisite falling-in-love montage is dedicated to weaponry, not women, as Willis’s character unveils his in-home armory secreted under cutlery drawers, stovetops and false pantries.

Adrianne Palicki

These big reveals, combined with techie babble about model numbers and firing capacity, are often rolled out to grinding guitar rock music, and hero-shots of smiling soldiers shooting their loads in slow-motion.

Butting up against all this muscle-bound action is the larger “plot” involving nuclear warheads, a presidential impostor and the “ultimate weapon” called Zeus.

Though I can’t say with any real certainty what the details of the larger story were, I know Jonathan Pryce (Brazil) has to play a dual role: The real “good” president of the United States, and the faux “evil” doppelganger who usurps his place and begins a march toward world domination.

Meanwhile, there’s a whole story about Cobra – G.I. Joe’s enemy from back in the plastic wrap days – but it proves too boring to care about, especially when the character remains behind a plastic mirror mask the whole time.

There’s also a whole subplot about warring ninjas — Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee) and Snake Eyes (Ray Park) — but again, it was kind of confusing and didn’t contribute all that much to the bigger picture, outside of that one mountain sequence and a few samurai-sword swinging showdowns.

The real meat of this movie is the buddy stuff between Willis, Johnson and Tatum — three men who are so comfortable in their manhood, we never feel they have anything to prove — and that’s not only a huge relief, it’s entertaining.

Nothing is more painful than watching an actor try too hard (think Tom Cruise), so watching this testosterone trio let it all hang out while still looking firm feels oddly pleasurable and intermittently amusing — even if it makes no sense and proves entirely forgettable.

In the proud tradition of Angelina Jolie’s protruding leg, Best Actress winner Anne Hathaway got the evening’s social media frenzy off to a pointed start when her red carpet gown indicated it was a chilly night in Los Angeles.

Off colour references, a Mr. Skin retrospective, meta-jokes featuring William Shatner stuffed into his Star Trek uniform circa Wrath of Khan and oddly sincere musical numbers combined to make rookie host Seth MacFarlane’s opening monologue an uneven affair. But nearly all was forgiven thanks to an inspired dance number by Hollywood’s real-life golden boy Channing Tatum and otherworldly pixie Charlize Theron who delighted with a wonderfully choreographed number that was more entertaining than the entire last season of Family Guy.

Best Playboy Smirk: George Clooney

It’s somewhat comforting to know that even super good looking multimillionaire playboys like George Clooney appreciate a free drink as much as the rest of us. Witness the smirk on his face when Seth MacFarlane threw him a bottle of hooch the host supposedly “stole from the mini-bar”

Worst Playoff Music: Theme from Jaws

Echoing Seth MacFarlane’s jokes, what surely seemed like a cute idea in theory was disrespectful and ill-conceived in actuality. From cutting off Life of Pi Visual Effects winner Bill Westenhofer to undermining Searching for Sugarman filmmaker Simon Chinn, by mid-show the “Theme from Jaws” gag had earned its own playoff music.

Best Wizard Hair: Life of Pi cinematographer Claudio Miranda

Claudio Miranda and his hair accept the Oscar for Best Cinematography

As a manicured affair, it’s rare to find a single hair out of place on the head of any Oscar winner. So it was a rare delight to witness Life of Pi cinematographer Claudio Mianda’s shock of white mane. Cue Edgar Winter, Gandalf the White and, for indie cred, J Mascis jokes. Honourable mention: Zero Dark Thirty sound editor Paul N.J. Ottosson , Skyfall sound editor Per Hallberg

Best Pipes: Dame Shirley Bassey

In a fitting tribute to the music of James Bond, the woman synonymous with the series’ infamous opening numbers sang its most famous theme. By the time she hit the bombastic crescendo to “Goldfinger,” 76-year-old Dame Shirley Bassey was the musical highlight of a night dedicated to musical highlights.

Worst Facial Hair: John Travolta

John Travolta and his “beard” appear at the Oscars.

In a year where male facial hair became mainstream, John Travolta’s attempt more closely resembled a shaving mishap than a beard. If only he had brought up Kelly Preston.

Worst Envelope Opening: Sandra Bullock

Best Save: Jennifer Lawrence

As she made her way to the stage to accept her Best Actress Oscar, Jennifer Lawrence tripped on her own dress. While such a public display would have shaken most, J Law used it as fodder in her acceptance speech, saving both her dignity and her place as Hollywood’s most versatile young actress.

Best Hollow Victory: Canada

It may be a cliche but, when it comes to Hollywood, Canadians are still just happy to be noticed. Case in point: After he bastardized and sexed up America’s role in the daring escape of American hostages during the Iran Hostage Crisis, Argo director/producer/star Ben Affleck threw Canada a thank you bone in his Best Picture acceptance speech. Predictably, Canadians instantly forgave the affable Affleck because, when comes down to it, it’s kind of exciting to know that he knows we exist.

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/oscars-2013-best-and-worst/feed2Anne HathawayjonathandekelJoseph Gordon-Levitt', Oscars, PhotobombClaudio Miranda, OscarsJohn Travolta, OscarsTV Friday: The Fannies a fun take on The Oscarshttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/television/tv-friday-the-fannies-a-fun-take-on-the-oscars
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/television/tv-friday-the-fannies-a-fun-take-on-the-oscars#respondFri, 22 Feb 2013 07:09:23 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=201982It’s awards season, or carpet-bagger season if you prefer. This weekend will see telecasts of indie films’ Spirit Awards, held earlier in the week, and the granddaddy of them all, Sunday’s 85th Annual Academy Awards, broadcast live.

To get you in the mood on a typically slow Friday TV night, then, why not pull up a chair to Teletoon at Night’s night-long Third Annual Fannies. This is a homegrown awards show that celebrates rather than belittles artificial performances — literally, as in the case of “best dramatic performance by a robot.”

The nominees in that particular category include David from Prometheus, Claptrap from Borderlands 2, and a flesh-and-blood actor or actress from The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2. It would be unfair and mean-spirited to name that person here — that’s what the Razzies are for — but you get the idea.

The Fannies is the brainchild, so to speak, of Fred at Night host Fred Kennedy, an Edmonton-raised, Toronto-based animation buff who introduces the episodes in Teletoon’s weekly Friday-night block of animated TV shows. Kennedy, a cineaste who claims a passion for and knowledge of all things pop culture, shares pointers on the animation style, storylines and characters of such edgy evening fare as Futurama, Archer, Robot Chicken and Teletoon’s own Fugget About It.

Teletoon was originally conceived to appeal to children too old for SpongeBob SquarePants but too young perhaps for South Park. The late-night programming block Teletoon at Night, as the name suggests, is aimed at an older, more sophisticated audience — Teletoon at Night’s website insists that visitors declare themselves to be 18 or older — with the emphasis on Fox’s Animation Domination lineup of shows like Bob’s Burgers, The Simpsons and The Cleveland Show over more obvious kid fare like Jimmy Two-Shoes, George of the Jungle and Adventure Time with Finn & Jake.

As an homage to Seth MacFarlane, host of this year’s Oscars, Fred at Night’s Friday animation will focus on American Dad.

As an homage to Seth MacFarlane, host of this weekend’s Oscars, Fred at Night’s Friday animation will focus on MacFarlane’s animated creations Family Guy and American Dad.

Winners of the Third Annual Fannies will be revealed throughout the evening, with commercial-break cutaways to a semi-formal party presentation in Toronto.

Other Fannie categories and nominees include best use of swords, which pits TV’s Spartacus: Vengeance against the movies John Carter and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey; best man bum, featuring the Magic Mike trio of Alex Pettyfer, Matthew McConaughey and Channing Tatum; best use of cleavage, featuring Sofia Vergara, Kate Upton and Kat Dennings; and The John Stamos Lifetime Achievement Award in the Category of Hair.

The Stamos Hair recipient will be revealed during the broadcast, but don’t worry: Donald Trump is ineligible. The Third Annual Fannies promises to be more creative than that. (Teletoon, 9-midnight ET/PT)

Family Guy is the brainchild of Seth MacFarlane, host of this year’s Oscars.

Three to See

• It’s February — isn’t that a little early for a season finale of a supposedly established network TV drama? CSI: NY ends its ninth season with Det. Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise) forced to deal with a community uprising following the police shooting of an unarmed man. CSI: NY is thought to be on the chopping block, but then that rumour has been circulating for almost as long as CSI: NY has been on the air. Either way, nine seasons is nothing to scoff at. (CTV, 8 ET/PT, 9 MT; CBS, 9 ET/PT)

• Shark Tank features an unusual twist, an update with a would-be entrepreneur who spurned an offer from the Sharks in the show’s third season and went into business for himself, by himself. Evidently, they made him an offer he could refuse. Now viewers learn how that worked out for him. (CTV, ABC, 9 ET/PT, 10 MT)

• Touch, a good idea with a good actor in search of a better show, finds Martin (Kiefer Sutherland) striking a deal with the devil to save young Jake (David Mazouz) from further exploitation at the hands of the evil, dastardly Aster Corps. (Global, Fox, 9 ET/PT, 10 MT)

Fans of old-fashioned film noir will experience the best results, but anyone who’s ever swallowed a mood-altering medication will find Side Effects oddly alluring.

A thriller that explores the ups and downs of the multi-billion-dollar anti-depressant industry, this Steven Soderbergh outing uses proven cinematic formula — but he hides it under a generic white label for as long as possible.

The doubt works, because for the first 30 minutes, we’re not sure exactly what kind of laboratory we’ve walked into. Without any explanation, Soderbergh opens the film through a Manhattan window, where we silently cruise over an obvious crime scene where blood covers the hardwood planks of an upscale apartment.

Soon after, we’re introduced to Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara), a young woman who appears to be in the throes of a major depression. Shortly after picking up her husband (Channing Tatum) from a penitentiary where he served time for insider trading, Emily buckles herself into her Volkswagen and drives it into a brick wall.

Her apparent suicide attempt lands her in the hospital, where she becomes the patient of staff psychiatrist, Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law).

Roomy Mara in Side Effects. (AP Photo/Open Road Films, Barry Wetcher)

Banks is a good guy. We know this because he’s good at demonstrating empathy, and he’s eager to find out a little bit more about his new patient. He’s also thoughtful when it comes to prescriptions, which is why he consults with other professionals and previous caregivers before putting Emily on a course of anti-depressants.

The first drug doesn’t provide the necessary relief so he switches Emily to a different, and relatively new, SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) with a long list of problematic side effects, including sleepwalking.

Without unveiling too much of a rather well-knotted plot, Dr. Banks and Emily end up defending their actions in a court of law.

Dr. Banks has to prove he was not negligent in prescribing the mood-altering medication, and Emily must prove she’s not a murderer.

With two great protagonists standing centreframe, the viewer is forced to look at the side players as de facto villains — whether it’s Channing Tatum as the self-centred broker looking for redemption, or the police inspector seeking to put Dr. Banks in the hotseat for malpractice.

And then there’s the mysterious Dr. Victoria Siebert (Catherine Zeta-Jones) — Emily’s previous therapist with a shady connection to a big pharmaceutical company with a brand new happy drug.

Everyone seems to have an ulterior motive except the two people at the heart of the story, and that’s when Soderbergh sticks us with his creepy needle and creates doubt regarding both characters. Not only was Dr. Banks accused of inappropriate behaviour before, Emily’s actions are starting to look a little suspect.

Before we know it, Soderbergh has turned the entire ship around and turned a courtroom medical drama into a classic piece of film noir. He even offers a verbal nod to Billy Wilder’s brilliant Double Indemnity, a lasting noir masterpiece that gives Side Effects a solid genetic template to work from.

Because film noir functions in a moral wasteland where motivation is always a little murky, getting a proper handle on character will be a matter of faith — and that’s where Soderbergh scores most of his points in Side Effects.

Thanks to Rooney Mara’s uncanny ability to play every scene from two perspectives, Side Effects unfurls in an almost weightless environment because we don’t know where each moment will finally land.

Mara is in her element here as the waif-like femme fatale, capable of floating in a moral vacuum like a delicate little bird. She looks vulnerable, but behind those big eyes and red, sensuous lips, she could be a closet predator.

It all makes for a rather giddy sensation, but one that could leave you feeling a little nauseous and disoriented as well, because Soderbergh doesn’t tether anything down — not character, not plot and not even the denouement.

Side Effects suffers from intense mood swings and a lack of dramatic phrasing. One minute we’re looking at Dr. Banks like he’s the elegant fool, and the very next, he’s a step ahead of the police. The same goes for Mara’s wonderfully blank Emily as newfangled femme fatale.

The revelations are too quick, too obvious or entirely off the wall. As a result, it seems the minute we finally get a handle on the underlying truth, the movie has already moved towards a totally cheesy resolution.

Nonetheless, it’s nice to see a throwback to the good old days of psychological suspense played out against a modern backdrop of psycho-pharmaceuticals. It feels right to question a world where happiness can be swallowed for a price, and night sweats, dry mouth, hallucinations, drowsiness and dead husbands are a negotiable part of the bargain.

Soderbergh’s Side Effects isn’t just about big pharma’s flattening effect on everyday existence, it’s also about the moral side effects of a society addicted to greed.

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/movie-review-side-effects/feed0Side EffectskatherinemonkcanadacomSide EffectsSide EffectsCatherine Zeta-Jones fulfills childhood dream with Side Effectshttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/catherine-zeta-jones-fulfils-childhood-dream-with-side-effects
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/catherine-zeta-jones-fulfils-childhood-dream-with-side-effects#commentsWed, 06 Feb 2013 17:55:33 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=194816LOS ANGELES — As a mother of two young children, Catherine Zeta-Jones has strict criteria for choosing her movies. Unless Steven Soderbergh makes her an offer — then she usually doesn’t refuse.

Maybe it’s because the Welsh actress received special care and attention when she was pregnant with her first child on the set of Soderbergh’s Traffic.

“Steven rubbed my feet when I was pregnant and that’s the only reason why I keep coming back,” says a smiling Zeta-Jones. “He looked after a pregnant woman so well, I just knew I’d be in good hands.”

Subsequently, she said yes to a main role in Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Twelve and agreed to co-star in his murder mystery Side Effects, which opens Feb. 8.

In the film set in New York, Zeta-Jones plays a psychiatrist who gets mixed up in a case involving her former patient Emily (Rooney Mara) treated for an anxiety disorder by another shrink, Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law).

When the patient lapses into abnormal behaviour after being prescribed new medication, her husband Martin (Channing Tatum) becomes concerned. A subsequent murder hurtles all associated with it into crisis mode.

“Side Effects is probably the hardest movie to discuss because the wonder of the plot is that there are so many twists and turns,” says Zeta-Jones.

She can confess to this, however. “I will say that I’m thrilled that Steven cast me as a doctor because I never went to college and I always wanted an MD after my name. I’m really quite flattered that (Soderbergh) fulfilled my mother’s dream.”

A physician’s life wasn’t in the cards for Zeta-Jones. Instead, she moved from Swansea, Wales, to London to seek her fortune working in the chorus of London shows. She followed that with some roles in TV series and landed her breakout part in The Mask of Zorro opposite Antonio Banderas.

I never went to college and I always wanted an MD after my name.

Her acting, singing and dancing talents came together for her Oscar-winning part in the movie version of the musical Chicago. Through it all, she developed a reputation as a trouper with an energetic work ethic.

Certainly, the Side Effects role came with the need to do lots of research into psychiatrists and psychiatry. She was especially interested in the profession as a person who suffers from bipolar disorder, which she revealed two years ago.

“There was this British stiff-upper-lip idea where psychotherapy and depression and basically your emotions always had to be quashed,” says Zeta-Jones. “If you’re sad, buck up, you’ll be fine tomorrow.”

Attitudes have changed, however. “Especially in America, there is a much more public approach and I think speaking about these issues is a very good thing.”

On the other hand, Side Effects exposes a negative byproduct for the tell-all generation.

“I think culturally, we’re all victims of a quick fix,” says Zeta-Jones. “We want everything instantaneously. And I think with prescription medicine it’s kind of the same thing.”

Indeed, Soderbergh said he was trying to examine those realities through Scott Z. Burns’s multi-layered script, but he was also attempting to entertain audiences with a suspense story in the tradition of Fatal Attraction, which co-starred Zeta-Jones husband, Michael Douglas.

And as coincidence would have it, Zeta-Jones was reminded that Douglas co-stars with Matt Damon in Soderbergh’s Liberace biopic, Behind the Candelabra, which will air on HBO in May.

Douglas plays Liberace, the flamboyant but closeted gay Las Vegas showman. Damon portrays his driver and lover, who eventually sues Liberace in a notorious palimony lawsuit.

“At the end of the day, Behind the Candelabra was a relationship movie and the core of it was two people in a room,” says Soderbergh. “The difference in this case was they were in a hot tub.”

Indeed, some scenes require Douglas and Damon to engage in some heavy smooching.

“When Matt Damon was kissing Michael,” says a smiling Zeta-Jones, “Matt told me he closed his eyes and pretended he was kissing me, and I thought that was one of the biggest compliments I ever had.”

Of course, Douglas and Damon worked with Soderbergh previously, as well.

“This is why Steven employs all of us because we can be screwed up as much as we want and just be happy to be there on set,” says Zeta-Jones.

For her latest project, she’s taking a Soderbergh break. Joining the cast of 2010’s Red in a sequel turned out to be another worthy enticement.

“I saw Red and thought it was a blast,” said Zeta-Jones of the Bruce Willis spy comedy. “It sounded like fun to be in the sequel with a great ensemble cast of John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Bruce (Willis) and Mary-Louise Parker.”

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/catherine-zeta-jones-fulfils-childhood-dream-with-side-effects/feed2Side Effectsbbt1Early buzz: Drake, Justin Bieber, Channing Tatum and morehttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/early-buzz-drake-justin-bieber-channing-tatum-and-more
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/early-buzz-drake-justin-bieber-channing-tatum-and-more#commentsTue, 05 Feb 2013 12:00:26 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=193828Drake threw a Super Bowl party, but someone must have been hollering for more Doritos in their outdoor voice because the cops reportedly shut down the bash — twice — over noise violations. YOLO, officers…

—

In further Super Bowl-ish headlines, next year’s game at New Jersey’s Meadowlands Stadium might not have a half time show. The reason? The New York Post claims the Jersey weather will be too cold, which is really just a convenient excuse for all the pop stars too afraid to follow Beyonce.

With spring just around the corner, let Miley Cyrus teach you how not to wear high-waisted cut-offs.

—

Once you stop gawking at her under-butt, this just in: Miley Cyrus has been telling her 11 million Twitter followers to blanket their local magazine stands with her issue of Cosmo. So far it’s working. (Warning to fans: If she asks you to drink some Kool-Aid, don’t do it.)

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/early-buzz-drake-justin-bieber-channing-tatum-and-more/feed1DrakeleahdoseJude Law psyched for Side Effects rolehttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/jude-law-psyched-for-side-effects-role
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/jude-law-psyched-for-side-effects-role#respondMon, 04 Feb 2013 15:56:51 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=193374LOS ANGELES — As the third Sherlock Holmes film continues its long development phase, Jude Law insists he’s looking forward to it.

That would be another Guy Ritchie instalment with Law as Watson and Robert Downey Jr. portraying the iconic sleuth.

And why wouldn’t he? The previous movies earned more than $1 billion US at the worldwide box office and helped rejuvenate Law’s flagging career.

While all players involved wait for a completed Sherlock screenplay, the 40-year-old decided he had an announcement to make during a recent interview in a Beverly Hills hotel.

“I’m here and available for work,” said Law, smiling at his pretend advertisement.

He does have some openings in his schedule after wrapping Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel and the crime comedy Dom Hemingway in which he plays a notorious safecracker.

In fact, he’s between gigs until December when he returns to his London home for some high-profile West End stage work in one of William Shakespeare’s classics.

“I’m doing a play at the end of the year called Henry V,” noted Law who was being playful again. “Yeah, another sequel. This time he’s really angry.”

Meanwhile, fans get to enjoy him in Steven Soderbergh’s suspense film Side Effects, which opens in North American theatres on Feb. 8.

It’s Law’s second Soderbergh movie. He was part of the A-list ensemble with Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow in the 2011 thriller Contagion, and returns to the Soderbergh fold with a Side Effects cast that includes Channing Tatum, Rooney Mara and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

In the film, Law plays Dr. Banks, a psychiatrist who becomes embroiled in a murder when a patient, Emily (Mara), suffers an apparent severe reaction to new medication he’s prescribed to combat an anxiety disorder.

Emily is the wife of Martin (Tatum), a Manhattan stockbroker just out of jail for insider trading. As they try to reunite after their separation, Emily seems to deteriorate emotionally. Things get even more complicated for Banks when Emily’s former psychiatrist, Dr. Siebert (Zeta-Jones) enters the picture.

Obviously, Soderbergh was a factor in Law’s decision to become involved in the film as a co-star. The cast proved to be an enticement too, but he was especially impressed with Scott Z. Burns’s script when he first read it.

“It’s unfortunately a rarity to be involved in something intelligent nowadays and this was smart and it felt very timely,” said Law. “Although I just found this was written 10 years ago, but it’s incredibly relevant.”

The actor was intrigued by the story’s devices, too. “I already knew the twists and turns, so I missed out on the impact when I saw the finished product.”

Still, he has fond memories of filming in New York last year. He was reminded why he enjoys working with Soderbergh, who limits his takes and allows his actors to participate in forming their characters’ personalities with improvisation.

“There’s a trust,” Law said of the director’s approach. “You feel like you’re there because you’re the right person for the job and that gives you confidence.

“And I got to go home at about three o’clock most days, which was fantastic because New York is such a great town.”

It was a sharp contrast for Mara, who endured multiple takes of scenes filming David Fincher’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

She was prepared by her colleagues who had been through the Soderbergh lightning-quick shooting style in previous movies; Law in the aforementioned Contagion, Tatum in Haywire and Magic Mike, and Zeta-Jones in Traffic and the Ocean’s Twelve caper film.

That didn’t mean Law, or the rest of the cast, sloughed off on preparation. For instance, Law met often with the movie’s consultant, Dr. Sasha Bardey, and did as much research as time would allow.

“I finished this job with a great respect for the profession,” said Law of psychiatry. “Obviously a lot of the discussion around this film is focused on the abuse of medicine and perhaps relying on medicine for the wrong reasons.”

In the end, Soderbergh said that Side Effects is not meant to be an exposé but rather an entertaining thriller. Yet he wanted his actors to maintain a reality.

“Steven told me it was important to make it very clear that this guy was good at what he did,” said Law of his character. “And it was also important to show the boundaries and when and how a situation may arise for a psychiatrist where it will impact his private life.”

His professionalism sets up the unexpected events that unfold, said Law.

“And there is a beautiful subtly to the story where you’re not sure whether (Dr. Banks) has the upper hand or indeed he’s going mad. Sometimes you’re very lucky as an actor when all you have to do is join the dots.”

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” sang Bob Dylan, but these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture offerings is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week.

• MOVIES

Big release: Identity Thief (Feb. 8)

The big picture: It’s Trading Places (remember when Eddie Murphy used to be funny?) meets Planes, Trains and Automobiles (BTW: If John Candy were still with us, I wouldn’t be speaking about him being funny in the past tense). For those born after 1990, it’s Due Date meets George Michael Bluth’s dad meets that hilarious plus-sized woman who cussed, burped and farted her way through Bridesmaids. Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman join forces in this hybrid of two Hollywood staples: the road trip and the identity switcheroo. McCarthy plays Diana, a deceptively harmless deviant and Bateman plays Sandy, a — you guessed it! — mild-mannered, buttoned-up guy (he really needs to branch out). When Diana steals Sandy’s identity, and goes on a spending spree, he heads to Florida to bring her back and clear his name.

Forecast: McCarthy will play scene-stealer yet again, and Bateman is the perfect foil. He is the best straight man in the biz. Identity Thief warms us up for Bateman’s return in Arrested Development’s all-new season on Netflix. Other road trip movie combos I’d like to see in the future: Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston; Tommy Lee Jones and Clint Eastwood (Grumpy Old Men 3?); Charlie Sheen and a bottle of absinthe.

Honourable Mention: Side Effects (Feb. 8). Starring Channing Tatum and Catherine Zeta-Jones, this drama tells the tale of a woman who turns to prescription meds to ease her anxiety over her husband’s prison release. Coincidentally, I’ve turned to prescription meds as a way to handle my anxiety about not having abs like Channing Tatum.

• TV

Big Event: Community (Feb. 7, City, NBC, 8 ET/PT)

Big picture: Greendale College is finally back in session. You can “thank” NBC for the delay. The network pulled the cult sitcom from its fall schedule at the last second. Enjoy this 13-episode season while it lasts — this time really, really could be the audience-challenged series’ final run. Gone is Dan Harmon, series creator and showrunner — so the show’s web-savvy fans will be ready to pounce on any changes in tone and structure. Even co-star Chevy Chase was fired/quit (depending on who you ask) before this season wrapped filming. But none of that really matters. The important thing is that the most innovative, endlessly surprising 30 minutes of comedy on TV has returned.

Forecast: Before the series becomes history. Season 4 will find the gang studying history (under the tutelage of guest star Malcolm McDowell). New escapades will include a Halloween episode at the mansion owned by Pierce (Chase) and Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) finally facing off against his estranged dad (James Brolin). Sounds like a full syllabus. Form your study group now.

Big picture: The Eeyore of Canadian indie rock returns after his seventh studio album — his first with the Arts & Crafts label. No one makes melancholy and self-reflection seem so inviting. With an album that includes tracks titled Oh Memory and Old Dreams, Hayden is clearly up to his old tricks.

Forecast: Us Alone will be pitch perfect (unless you’re in a dance club). And now for a pop quiz. Is this an Eeyore quote or a Hayden lyric?: “One can’t complain. I have my friends. Someone spoke to me only yesterday.”

Honourable Mentions: Bjork (Bastards); Tim McGraw (Two Lanes of Freedom). Bjork wins my award for favourite album title of the year. Country’s Tim McGraw wins my award for most cliched album title of the year. Because there’s nothing Americans love more than cars and freedom. The only thing that would have topped it was Two Lanes of Freedom While Firing Guns.

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/music/pop-forecast-week-of-feb-4/feed0Identity Thiefpostmedianews1Everything’s magic for Channing Tatumhttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/everythings-magic-for-channing-tatum
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/everythings-magic-for-channing-tatum#respondTue, 29 Jan 2013 19:07:44 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=190247LOS ANGELES — Channing Tatum was his charmingly confident self relaxing in a Beverly Hills hotel suite recently, but he became almost bashful when the subject of fatherhood came up.

“That’ll be the biggest role of my life,” admitted the 32-year-old whose wife, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, is expecting their first baby soon. “I hope I don’t screw that one up. Yeah, I’m really excited and will slow down once the little person is in the world.”

Fans shouldn’t panic, though. They can get some Tatum over the next year or so before his daddy sabbatical.

He just wrapped the drama Foxcatcher and is transitioning into the Wachowski Brothers’ sci-fi actioneer Jupiter Ascending. He has a co-starring part in G.I. Joe: Retaliation, heading for theatres in late March, and he’s one of the leads in the thriller White House Down, set for a high-profile release in June.

He’s also co-starring with Rooney Mara, Jude Law and Catherine Zeta-Jones in Steven Soderbergh’s crime suspense film Side Effects, which opens Feb. 8.

In the movie, Tatum portrays Martin Taylor, a Manhattan stock broker just released from jail for insider trading. When he reunites with his wife Emily (Mara), things deteriorate quickly after she changes her medication for depression.

Soon, Emily suffers from drug-taking side effects, which leads to a murder and a conspiracy that involves Emily’s new psychiatrist Dr. Banks (Law) and her previous shrink Dr. Siebert (Zeta-Jones).

Indeed, Side Effects is different in tone and substance than last summer’s successful Tatum-Soderbergh collaboration on the male stripper flick Magic Mike, which in turn was different than their first film together, Haywire, a martial arts spy picture.

“I just keep coming back because Steven’s so pretty and beautiful, and he gives great massages on set,” joked Tatum before becoming sort of serious. “He can call me for anything. I’d play waiter number one or two even, but I’m not going to play three.”

It was Contagion screenwriter Scott Z. Burns who brought his Side Effects script to Soderbergh. “We decided we wanted to do a thrill ride,” said Burns. “And the best thrill ride is through a landscape you thought you knew.”

The director said he had the added challenge of combining an exposé with a procedural but counted on the subplot covering the misuse of pills to battle depression to make the story relevant.

Certainly, Soderbergh’s involvement was one of the main Side Effects selling points for Tatum. “The script was refreshingly intelligent and I wanted to see it in his hands,” he said.

And, the actor reacted positively to the medical theme.

“I’ve definitely had a connection with people who needed help either from a pill or just having a conversation,” he said. “The abuse of pills is a real thing. I understand that there are people who really need them and I understand that there are people who abuse them, and it’s an unfortunate grey line.”

The plot twists added to his enthusiasm when he first read the screenplay. “I thought I knew where (Side Effects) was going and then it took a hard right turn and I had no idea.”

Tatum claimed to feel the same way about his career, but last year was a confirmation for him of the highest order.

He played opposite Rachel McAdams in the hit romantic drama The Vow. He scored with Jonah Hill in the action comedy version of the TV series 21 Jump Street (a sequel is in the works) and he was the headliner in Magic Mike, which scored at the worldwide box office.

He’s come along way since his first showbiz job as a dancer in Ricky Martin’s She Bangs music video.

After appearing in an episode of CSI: Miami in 2004, he took some acting lessons. It paid off. He made his film debut in the well-received 2005 sports flick Coach Carter with Samuel L. Jackson. He also appeared in the teen comedy She’s the Man with then-hot teen star Amanda Bynes.

His breakout arrived with his portrayal of a hip-hop dancer in 2006’s Step Up; he met his wife while filming.

“Look, I’ve been lucky,” Tatum said. “We worked so hard on every single one and you don’t know which movies are going to work and which ones aren’t. You don’t try any less hard on the ones that don’t. But I was fortunate to work with some really amazingly talented people.”

These days he tries to keep his selection process simple now that he can decide on roles. “You got to keep doing the stories you love and the characters you love and are drawn to.”

So far so good: People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive is well-liked by his colleagues and respected by filmmakers who go out of their way to work with him

Apparently, Tatum has the right stuff. He shakes his head modestly “no” when he hears the assessment.

“We’d be here all day if I listed all the wrong stuff,” he said.

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/everythings-magic-for-channing-tatum/feed0Channing Tatumbbt1Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s sex film Don Jon’s Addiction satisfies at Sundancehttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/joseph-gordon-levitts-sex-film-don-jons-addiction-satisfies-at-sundance
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/joseph-gordon-levitts-sex-film-don-jons-addiction-satisfies-at-sundance#commentsSat, 19 Jan 2013 18:31:30 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=184993PARK CITY, Utah – Joseph Gordon-Levitt could barely contain his enthusiasm. It was bursting at the seams as he presented his porn-laden directorial debut Don Jon’s Addiction to a packed house at the Sundance Film Festival on Friday.

The story of a young urban man who pumps iron and plays the field, but still prefers pornography to the real thing, Jon Don’s Addiction stars Levitt as the central stud, as well as Scarlett Johansson as the object of desire and Julianne Moore as the woman who finally helps him resurrect his natural libido through love.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt said he wanted to tell a love story with the backdrop being our culture of objectification.

“I wanted to tell a love story,” he said after the tail credits scrolled across the giant screen.

“But in my observation, what gets in the way of love is people objectifying each other. People put labels on each other and have a checklist of expectations. Rather than seeing what makes them a unique human being, it’s like, well, what are her tits like, what is her ass like?”

It’s no different for women, either, he said: They generally look at the man as a source of income and status.

“I wanted to write a story about that,” said the veteran actor who appeared as an alien in 3rd Rock from the Sun, as well as a hit man in the recent Looper.

“In fact, I was thinking about it in terms of movies before I thought of it in terms of porn: The way that people learn what they are supposed to like from Hollywood romance,” he said.

“And then I thought of Don Juan and the ladies’ man who is addicted to porn, because the symbol of a guy sitting there watching pornography seemed to me, well that’s objectification right there. There is no connection between that guy and that woman, and that’s where it started.”

Gordon-Levitt said the addiction is an extension of objectification. “I think people objectify lots of things, whether it’s about connecting with another person, friends and family, your spirituality, or lot of things: Rather than really connecting with it, people turn it into an object they can consume, and that’s what this movie is about.”

The idea of classic Hollywood romance is still woven into the film as a false template for relationships, and Gordon-Levitt even recreates a cheesy Tinseltown romance for one scene where the central couple goes on a movie date.

For a brief moment, we see Channing Tatum and Anne Hathaway stare deeply into each other’s eyes before they end up in a convertible on a coastal highway at sunset.

It’s just one of the funnier moments in this sometimes subtle, but always sharp, comedy that also gives Johansson a chance to stretch her acting legs, as well as her gum-chewing abilities, as she plays a hair-twirling tease looking to tame her muscle man.

Johansson could not attend the Park City premiere as she was on Broadway, but Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Glenne Headly and Rob Brown were on hand to join Gordon-Levitt on the Eccles Theatre stage for what the director described as “the first time any audience has seen it.”

Gordon-Levitt says he didn’t really have any of the cast members in mind while he was writing, except at the very tail end of the screenwriting process, he did have “one really great idea:” to hire Danza to play his father.

“I met Tony Danza in 1993 when we shot Angels in the Outfield together,” said Gordon-Levitt.

“Joseph was 12 and I wasn’t,” said Danza, who went on to thank his director and co-star for creating a movie that he believed had great value.

“As the father of girls, I always think about that,” said Danza, answering a comment about intimacy and how destructive porn can be to real relationships.

“I wonder about the guys who are going to end up with my daughters. You know, I think you just made a great film, Joe. It’s an important movie.”

When asked about the ambient pornography clips in the film, Gordon-Levitt said in the first edit, they just inserted generic clips without edits or crops.

“But (it was jarring) to have real porn in there, in the middle of a mainstream comedy like this. So we carefully edited and cropped to make you feel like you’re watching porn, when you’re not really seeing anything.”

Some viewers were still taken aback by the frequent scenes of large-breasted women moaning and men with hairless chests thrusting, but the film was a definite crowd-pleaser with a surprisingly gentle tone toward the finale.

When asked about her own sex scenes in the film, Moore said as an actor they’re part of the job. “There are always technical things that are challenging, but if it makes sense for the story, it’s no different. But if it’s gratuitous, it’s awful,” she said.

“Joe has a specific vision. And that’s what you want from a director.”

Gordon-Levitt says he’s been acting ever since he was a little kid, and he always loved big, old-fashioned sets. “And I got to one for 25 shooting days.” But he also says he was doubtful all the way through the process.

“I’ve been trying to write one of these (screenplays) for a long time, and it’s the best one I ever tried to write, but a lot of it was my own head trip and getting through the routine of ‘Oh, I can’t do this, and no one will take me seriously, it’s too hard,’” he said. “Finally getting this done was the breaking of a long cycle . . . so I’m really happy to be here at Sundance.”

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/joseph-gordon-levitts-sex-film-don-jons-addiction-satisfies-at-sundance/feed1FILE PHOTO: Sundance Film Festival 2013 ParticipantskatherinemonkcanadacomJoseph Gordon-Levitt said he wanted to tell a love story with the backdrop being our culture of objectification.Early Buzz: Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, Taylor Swift, Rihanna and morehttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/music/early-buzz-robert-pattinson-and-kristen-stewart-taylor-swift-rihanna-and-more
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/music/early-buzz-robert-pattinson-and-kristen-stewart-taylor-swift-rihanna-and-more#respondFri, 18 Jan 2013 13:19:59 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=184397Have hope Twihards. Despite reports to the contrary, at least one source close to Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinsonis claiming the Twilight couple are still together.

The Spring Breakers trailer features Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens running around in bikinis while a cornrow-sporting, grill-chomping James Franco chaperones. But don’t just take our word for it:

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/music/early-buzz-robert-pattinson-and-kristen-stewart-taylor-swift-rihanna-and-more/feed0Kristen Stewart and Robert PattinsonjonathandekelOverseas tastes shape U.S. movie industryhttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/overseas-tastes-shape-u-s-movie-industry
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/overseas-tastes-shape-u-s-movie-industry#respondWed, 16 Jan 2013 15:57:29 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=183205Movie studio executives were happy to celebrate last year’s North American box-office record of $10.8 billion US. But they were even happier when international markets inched past 2011’s best.

In 2012, there were an unprecedented 18 movies which earned 70 per cent of their totals from overseas markets.

What does that mean for movie goers in North America? Expect more English-language films that won’t get lost in international translation.

Count on more special-effects extravaganzas, major animated motion pictures and a continuing series of films with franchise-ready appeal and multinational co-stars.

“We were going to see those kinds of movies anyway,” said Hollywood.com senior box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “But the increase in international sales will definitely provide fuel to seeing even more of them going forward.”

Take, for instance, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, which opens in March. The first G.I. Joe actioneer in 2009 with Channing Tatum received only 50 per cent of its revenue from overseas sales but the sequel addition of international-friendly stars Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis should up the ante considerably.

Sam Raimi’s fantastical prequel, Oz the Great and Powerful, also in theatres by March, will have overseas appeal based on Raimi’s past as the Spider-Man story spinner. More March madness arrives with Bryan Singer’s fable-as-an-action flick, Jack the Giant Slayer.

In May, franchise flicks include J.J. Abrams’ second reboot, Star Trek Into Darkness plus The Hangover Part III and Iron Man 3. The Fast and the Furious 6, in overdrive, keeps powering along because of its international appeal. All are overseas-ready-for-business with great expectations.

Monsters, Inc. sequel Monsters University, which will hit theatres in June, expects to add lots of overseas business, as well. In 2001, Monsters, Inc. scored $600 million at the box office, not quite half from foreign sales. More than a decade later it should be more like Monsters International.

Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, out in June, has lots going for it internationally, too. The Superman superhero is celebrated overseas and so is Snyder after his efforts with 300 and Watchmen.

Hugh Jackman’s The Wolverine is scheduled for a high-profile July release and that’s in part because of Jackman’s blossoming as an international movie star. Ditto Johnny Depp and The Lone Ranger; an iconic American hero played by a headliner with a global profile. It equals a box office comfort zone that includes North American and overseas appeal.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, out in November, is getting there. In 2012, The Hunger Games proved to be an exception to the box office rule. Its worldwide total of $686.5 million was made up of $408 million domestically. But Catching Fire is expected to increase its international percentage as Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence increases her international profile with the recent best actress Oscar nomination for Silver Linings Playbook.

Certainly, international numbers can defuse apparent bombs. In 2012, the sci-fi epic John Carter and the action flick Battleship famously flopped in North America, but did well internationally. John Carter picked up 74 per cent of its $282 million overseas while Battleship ended up earning a respectable $303 million globally thanks to 78 per cent from overseas receipts.

“It’s become so vital for that reason,” said Dergarabedian of the international box-office safety net.

Certainly, The Avengers followed trends last year. The all-star superhero flick managed the third-highest box office accumulation ever with more than 58 per cent of the total from foreign markets. (The Thor sequel, arriving at the multiplex in November, promises to continue the momentum.)

Skyfall, the 23rd Bond film, scooped up over a billion dollars: 71 per cent of the total came from international markets. Ice Age: Continental Drift, the fourth instalment of the cartoon series, picked up more than 80 per cent of its $875 million from overseas sales.

What hasn’t changed is the prevalence of 3D, but receipts from 3D declined in 2012 compared to the previous year. Only the Oscar-nominated Life of Pi had close to 70 per cent of its $94.8 domestic box office come from 3D presentations. Overseas (with some 3D capacity in theatres) the film impressed, so far, with a $356.3 million take.

“I think the industry is still finding its way,” Dergarabedian said of the 3D format. “It’s not the be-all and end-all it used to be, and it is definitely levelling off right now.”

Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is heading toward the billion-dollar mark, with overseas accounting for 70 per cent. That means the second Hobbit film, The Desolation of Smaug, out in December, should continue or increase the international market share.

The success of The Hobbit also suggests more directors will be assessing the 48-frames-per-second projection — double the usual — favoured by Jackson in his Hobbit prequels “because it’s more detailed.”

Avatar’s James Cameron, who reinvented 3D, said he believes the 48 frames per second format is the future of film and hinted he might try it on his much anticipated sequels. We’ll see.

“I think (Peter) Jackson and (James) Cameron are hoping that audiences will catch up,” Dergarabedian said. “But the jury is still out.”

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/overseas-tastes-shape-u-s-movie-industry/feed0Star Trek: Into Darknessbbt1Channing Tatum knocked up his wife, Jenna Dewan-Tatumhttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/channing-tatum-knocked-up-his-wife-jenna-dewan-tatum
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/channing-tatum-knocked-up-his-wife-jenna-dewan-tatum#respondMon, 17 Dec 2012 20:55:37 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=169990It’s time for Channing Tatum, 32, to hang up those assless chaps, because the Magic Mike star-turned-People’s Sexiest Man Alive and his uber-hot wife, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, 32, are about to become the world’s sexiest parents.

According to People magazine, Tatum and his lovely real-life leading lady are expecting a little one. The couple told the magazine that they are pleased to announce that they are expecting the birth of their first child next year.

Tatum really wasn’t kidding in November when he said that he and his wife had babies on the brain. The Magic Mike star told People, “I’m ready; I think she’s ready.”

“The first number that pops into my head is three, but I just want one to be healthy and then we’ll see where we go after that.”

Tatum isn’t kidding when it comes to having kids; he also told People that if it were up to him, they’d be making more than a few. “It’s really easy for us guys to say, ‘I want like 15 kids,’” he noted. “Jenna will be like, ‘Well you better get another wife!’”

The couple met on the set of Step Up in 2006 and later married in Malibu in 2009.

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/channing-tatum-knocked-up-his-wife-jenna-dewan-tatum/feed0121217_ChanningmirandafurtadoSexiest Man Alive Channing Tatum plans to take a break from actinghttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/celebrity/sexiest-man-alive-channing-tatum-plans-to-take-a-break-from-acting
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/celebrity/sexiest-man-alive-channing-tatum-plans-to-take-a-break-from-acting#respondWed, 05 Dec 2012 19:53:07 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=163063Channing Tatum is too sexy for his job – or so it would appear.

Following the most “magical” year of his career, People’s current Sexiest Man Alive told EW.com that he plans on taking a break from acting in 2013.

“[Production partner Reid Carolin and I] have about three to four ideas that we love that are all in the hopper. By the end of next year, we’re going to shut things down and write the first thing that we’re going to direct,” the 32-year-old Magic Mike star said. “We’re going to be like, alright, no more acting parts for a minute, let’s take a few and really get caring about that section of our career.”

While this may seem like bad news for Tatum-heads, EW points out that fans of the buff former-stripper will still be able to see him in no less than four movies in the next twelve months – including the Steven Soderbergh directed Side Effects and action flick White House Down.

Tatum is also reportedly still working on a Magic Mike sequel, as well as an Evel Knievel biopic.

“I love the steps that I’ve taken acting-wise,” Tatum said. “That has been a wild sort of exploration. But I don’t want to just keep putting [directing] off for these fun and incredible opportunities.”

The London, Ontario-born Gosling didn’t make the list, but neither did a single man whose sexiness was born, cultivated and buffed into an airbrushed sheen in the True North Strong and Free. (Still, they’ve at least looked to sexy men living and breathing outside of American borders. The list includes a Brit (Damian Lewis); an Australian (Chris Hemsworth); a South African (Oscar Pistorius).)

If People keeps insisting that Bradley Cooper rates as one of the Sexiest Men Alive — two years running — because of his “fluency in French,” then there’s a whole bilingual country of sexy-men they’ve completely overlooked.

Starting with Gosling, we’ve compiled a gallery of a few more famous men who are widely considered to be sexy, alive — and Canadian. (Check it out above.)

The London, Ontario-born Gosling didn’t make the list, but neither did a single man whose sexiness was born, cultivated and buffed into an airbrushed sheen in the True North Strong and Free. (Still, they’ve at least looked to sexy men living and breathing outside of American borders. The list includes a Brit (Damian Lewis); an Australian (Chris Hemsworth); a South African (Oscar Pistorius).)

If People keeps insisting that Bradley Cooper rates as one of the Sexiest Men Alive — two years running — because of his “fluency in French,” then there’s a whole bilingual country of sexy-men they’ve completely overlooked.

Starting with Gosling, we’ve compiled a gallery of a few more famous men who are widely considered to be sexy, alive — and Canadian. (Check it out above.)

And according to Gossip Cop, People magazine will name Tatum the 27th Sexiest Man Alive on Nov. 14 when they unveil that annual issue’s cover, thus including the 32-year-old star in the esteemed company of once and former sexy men including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and 2011 victor Bradley Cooper.

“We never comment on who the Sexiest Man Alive is until the issue is revealed,” a rep for the magazine told Gossip Cop, neither confirming nor denying reports that C-Tates’ various, marketable projects make their editorial board’s pants feel funny.

That leaves the world nine days to review Tatum’s body (of work), and judge for themselves.

The same, perhaps, goes for People.

Because there’s also at least one reason why Tatum, as dazzling as he is, shouldn’t win the title. It’s a reason that the public has already demanded deserves consideration:

Ryan Gosling.

After Cooper’s Sexiest Man Alive cover was revealed last year, fans — and George Clooney — questioned People’s judgment. Petitions were created, demonstrations were staged outside of People’s New York office. One year later, the #OccupySexy movement lives on — strong like a chiseled six-pack and smouldering with the heat of a million whispered “hey, girls.” (P.S. People mag: The Gos can dance, too.)

We wait, tingling with anticipation, for Nov. 14.

Readers: Who do you think is the sexiest man alive?

Take Our Poll
]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/channing-tatum-peoples-sexiest-man-alive-ryan-gosling-robbed-again/feed3leahdoseChanning Tatum: 12 dorky photos of the sexiest man alivehttp://o.canada.com/photos/channing-tatum-12-dorky-photos-of-the-sexiest-man-alive
Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:40:27 +0000http://o.canada.com/?post_type=photo_gallery&p=144579Channing Tatum: this is your sexiest man alive for 2012, at least according to early reports. He can dance, he can act, he can zest a lemon with his abdomen. (Cocktails, anyone?) But Tatum’s sexiest attribute of all is that he’s not afraid of looking like a total dork. Here are 12 examples.
]]>leahdoseEarly buzz: Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, Lana Del Rey, 50 Shades of Grey and morehttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/early-buzz-blake-lively-and-ryan-reynolds-lana-del-rey-50-shades-of-grey-and-more
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/early-buzz-blake-lively-and-ryan-reynolds-lana-del-rey-50-shades-of-grey-and-more#respondTue, 18 Sep 2012 04:01:29 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=111940If you can distract yourself from the fact Ryan Reynolds and Blake Livelyare totally making out in these new photos, try to get a glimpse of Lively’s new wedding ring. (Hint: It’s the diamond the size of a cherry tomato. I know it’s hard to spot, but keep trying.)

—

Ke$ha “pretended” to be a crazy person while riding a Tokyo subway, and sang a bit of her new song “Die Young” as part of a preview video. (She’s also Tweeted the art for the forthcoming single. Either that’s a lens flare or Ke$ha just lit a fart on fire. Maybe both.)

—

The “Blue Velvet” cover Lana Del Rey recorded for H&M has leaked in full. The “Blue Jeans” singer’s H&M ad has also surfaced. We now live in a world where discount leggings are sold via elaborate homages to David Lynch. Amazing.

—

Just a friendly reminder: Season 2 of Girls is coming to HBO in January, so they made a little teaser for it. You may now resume bedroom dancing to Robyn songs.

—

Dear “friends,” Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, were photographed making out in New York’s Central Park. Of note: Kutcher appears to be texting while kissing Kunis. (Dealbreaker! Ammiright, ladieez?)

How much do reality stars earn? Let’s just say Here Comes Honey Boo Boo‘s Thompson family could probably stand to ask for a pay raise, especially if they continue to contribute such gems as “beautimous” to the vernacular.

—

Nikki Blonsky, the former airport brawler who was formerly the star of some movie called Hairspray, will guest star on Smash.

Did Chris Brown complete his community service sentence, as previously reported? A prosecutor has called that matter into question, and Brown is now expected to appear in court to address the matter.

—

Adele‘s theme song for James Bond flick Skyfall will be called “Skyfall. Original. Very original.

—

Hey, guys. Just thought you’d like to know that Kate Middleton looks just as awesome when she’s not naked.

—

Check back throughout the day for your entertainment fix.

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/early-buzz-blake-lively-and-ryan-reynolds-lana-del-rey-50-shades-of-grey-and-more/feed0Blake Lively and Ryan ReynoldsleahdoseEarly buzz: Kristen Stewart, Britney Spears, Lana Del Rey and morehttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/early-buzz-kristen-stewart-britney-spears-lana-del-rey-and-more
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/early-buzz-kristen-stewart-britney-spears-lana-del-rey-and-more#commentsFri, 17 Aug 2012 04:01:09 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=94530Kristen Stewart‘s shame-induced exile can only last ’til September. True, her arctic enclave will probably just run out of bottled water and Chef Boy-R-Dee by then, but she’s also just confirmed her attendance at TIFF! (KStew will be promoting On the Road.)

—

Britney Spears has been chatting up the Mars Curiosity Rover on Twitter, proving that two robots can, indeed, find love.

Classic 90210 star Jennie Garth hung out with new-hotness 90210 star Shenae Grimes at a charity luncheon, where she may have taken Grimes aside, whispering foreboding predictions of horrors to come: glory fades, my dear, and one day you’ll be shilling mom jeans for Old Navy.

Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps is, indeed, capable of being photographed with clothes on. Fancy clothes, at that. He features in a new Louis Vuitton campaign with 77-year-old Olympic medallist, Larisa Latynina. (He’s back in the Speedo for his new Wheaties box, though.)

—

Are you ready for some football (and album promotion)?! Mariah Carey and No Doubt are booked to perform during the first game of the NFL season.

—

Kanye West‘s G.O.O.D. Music compilation, Cruel Summer, appears to have been pushed to Sept. 18.

—

Justin Theroux was spotted at a New York restaurant with Courteney Cox and Laura Dern a few days before he got engaged to Jennifer Aniston, so they maybe-sorta-probably talked all about how he was going to propose. Less certain: whether they ate anything.

—

How closely does Sienna Miller resemble Tippi Hedren? Answer: A lot. Photos have been released from Miller’s upcoming Hitchcock-themed film.

—

Are John Goodman, Robert Downey Jr. and Sean Penn joining the cast of The Hangover III?

—

Lady Gaga‘s bodyguard tackled an autograph seeker who rushed the singer. We only mention this because there’s video.

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/early-buzz-kristen-stewart-britney-spears-lana-del-rey-and-more/feed1Kristen StewartleahdoseEarly buzz: Justin Bieber, Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise, The Dark Knight Rises and morehttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/early-buzz-justin-bieber-kim-kardashian-breaking-bad-and-more
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/early-buzz-justin-bieber-kim-kardashian-breaking-bad-and-more#commentsTue, 17 Jul 2012 04:01:41 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=76290Director Anthony Mandler Tweeted a photo of Justin Bieber on the set of his new video, “As Long As You Love Me.” The kid’s all roughed-up and bloody, leading us to only one conclusion: 1) Somebody ripped off GQ.

—

Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise were hit by a garbage truck. It was a minor collision, according to reports, and no one was injured. Various outlets are expected to speculate on Tom Cruise and/or Scientology’s involvement in the crash by noon.

—

Everyone’s spazzing out on Suri Cruise‘s behalf — but that has nothing to do with the aforementioned car crash. The tyke’s private school requires a uniform, a regulation that could keep the of the world’s smallest fashionista from blooming into a slightly larger one. (Didn’t they notice that Lady Gaga and Gloria Vanderbilt are among the school’s alum?)

—

But wait! The tragic life of Suri Cruise has taken yet another horrible turn: Katie Holmes wouldn’t buy the kid a puppy. (Cue sad face, just in time for the paps’ arrival.)

The Dark Knight Rises premiered Monday night in New York City. Stars Anne Hathaway and Marion Cotillard seemed to be taking style inspiration from another movie, though. Black Swan, anyone?

—

Russell Brand was photographed with new rumoured girlfriend Isabella Brewster, in case you forgot his divorce from Katy Perry was just finalized.

—

You wanted a nude photo of Lady Gaga, right? One where she’s being strategically censored by an army of hamster-sized men?

Is the world ready for the spawn of Kimye? Kim Kardashian apparently is — though Radar, who has the story, also adds this quote from one of their unnamed sources: “She says she wants a baby with literally every guy she dates, but maybe this time she actually means it.”

—

What do John Cusack and Matthew Broderick have in common? They were both considered to play Breaking Bad‘s Walter White.

—

She’s one of the most terrifying Disney villains, but Angelina Jolie’s Maleficenthas competition. Competition at the box office, any way. A second Sleeping Beauty-inspired movie is coming to theatres.

—

Demi Moore‘s daughters are “seriously considering” taking out a restraining order against their mom. As Radar notes, however, “you can’t get a restraining order against your mom when she’s trying to call you. If that were the case, many, many more people would all be in court!”

—

Robert Pattinson had to wear a wig while filming Breaking Dawn – Part 2. Don’t weep, Team Edward: his mane is still as greasy and full as ever. They just needed the hairpiece for reshoots.

—

Rihannais working on a fashion line, a capsule collection with British brand River Island that’s set to debut in spring 2013. Prediction: it’ll feature a lot of leather snap-back caps and support hose.

—

Expect a photo of a pregnant Drew Barrymore to appear in the window of your neighbourhood fro-yo joint within hours. Here’s why.

—

Ashton Kutcher put on a cowboy hat and threw some water at a photographer. (He was at a Kenny Chesney show, which accounts for at least one half of that headline.)

—

Marilyn Manson on fatherhood: “My girlfriend Lindsay’s twin just had a baby, and I’ve started to think that maybe I wouldn’t mind passing my demented genius on to some small thing who can set fire and breathe profanity.” Marilyn Manson will eventually sire another Miley Cyrus.

—

George Clooney vacationed in Italy with Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan, just to make you jealous.

—

Entertainment Weekly would like you to know that Madonnahas flashed both her left and right breast on her current tour.

—

You should probably be following Joe Manganiello, Retta, Yvette Nicole Brown and Octavia Spencer on Twitter. Proof: #FourWay.

—

If you like M. Night Shyamalan and Facebook timeline, perhaps I can interest the five of you in watching this new teaser trailer for After Earth.

Bad Passion Pit news: frontman Michael Angelakos is taking a time out so that he can “work on improving my mental health.” Some concert dates have been affected. (You can find more info about that on the band’s website.)

—

Good Passion Pit news: the band’s latest record, Gossamer, is streaming on NPR.

—

The xx are back, and singing about pretty things like love and angels and dreams and unicorns (OK, not unicorns), on new song “Angels.” Their upcoming album, Coexist, is due September 11.

—

The follow-up to Mumford & Sons‘ Sigh No More will arrive September 24. It’s called Babel and will probably include a bunch of songs about how awesome Carey Mulligan is.

—

Check back throughout the day for your entertainment fix.

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/early-buzz-justin-bieber-kim-kardashian-breaking-bad-and-more/feed3Justin BieberleahdoseEarly Buzz: Andrew Garfield and Robert Pattinson, Britney Spears, Miley Cyrushttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/early-buzz-andrew-garfield-and-robert-pattinson-britney-spears-miley-cyrus
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/early-buzz-andrew-garfield-and-robert-pattinson-britney-spears-miley-cyrus#respondThu, 12 Jul 2012 11:10:32 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=73794Andrew Garfield and Robert Pattinson are reportedlyin a feud over which is the better young British actor. Whoever wins, we lose.